Transformative Coaching Level 1 to ACC
Transformative Coaching Level 1 - 67.5 Hours of Coach Training
An ICF-Accredited Level 1 Program toward the ACC Credential
Meets weekly on Tuesdays, with breaks for holidays as well as a couple of key breaks for rest and integration. Coaching Labs are held on Thursdays and combined with other cohorts in order to maximize learning and minimize your calendar footprint.
REGISTRATION OPEN August 1st for an October 20th start date. Payment Plans Available
Transformation begins here.
Transformative Coaching is where your coaching journey truly takes root.
It’s an invitation to slow down, listen beneath the surface, and discover how presence itself can change everything.
Through experiential learning, somatic awareness, and reflective writing, you’ll develop the essential structure, mindset, and heartset that allows coaching to move from technique to transformation.
You’ll learn to hold space for others with calm confidence — to trust the process, listen for what’s unsaid, and invite your clients into moments of discovery that awaken courage and possibility.
Why this journey matters:
This program is more than a certification path — it’s a re-calibration of how you meet the world.
You’ll learn to pause before responding, to be curious rather than certain, and to notice how your very presence creates safety.
As you learn to regulate your own nervous system and listen without agenda, you’ll begin to see your relationships shift — conversations deepen, conflicts soften, and clarity emerge where there was once noise.
And for your clients? They’ll feel seen, not sized up.
They’ll find themselves thinking more creatively, trusting their intuition, and taking action that aligns with their authentic values.
When you coach from grounded presence, transformation happens naturally —
not because you force it, but because you make room for it.
What you'll gain:
A Foundation of Presence: The confidence to coach ethically and effectively, grounded in ICF Core Competencies.
- Deep Listening & Curiosity: Learn to hear what’s spoken and unspoken, cultivating trust and safety in every conversation.
- Somatic & Reflective Awareness: Develop the ability to sense emotion, energy, and meaning in yourself and your clients.
- Coaching Mindset: Build a habit of curiosity, humility, and compassion that extends far beyond your sessions.
- Credential Readiness: Receive robust mentor coaching and demonstration feedback that prepare you for ICF assessment with confidence.
How it shows up:
In your life, you’ll notice greater patience, empathy, and emotional steadiness. Your communication will become clearer, your relationships more authentic, and your ability to hold space for others more natural.
In your clients’ lives, transformation will take root as self-trust. They’ll make decisions from alignment rather than fear, and experience the safety of being truly witnessed.
That is the quiet power of Transformative Coaching — a gentle initiation into the art and presence of being fully human, together.
REGISTRATION OPEN August 1st - Payment Plans Available
Module 1 - Foundations of Presence - Oct 20, 2026 thru Feb 2, 2027 at 2:30pm Pacific time
Learn to ground yourself, listen deeply, and build trust through presence.
- Coaching mindset & conversation structure
- Active listening, powerful questioning, and evoking awareness
- Building safety, trust, and co-creation
- Access to our monthly Coaching Dojo
12 Classes • 3 Coaching Labs (on Thursdays) • 1 Recording Review (on Thursday)
Module 2 - The Art of Partnership - Feb 23, 2027 thru May 4, 2027 at 2:30pm Pacific time
Deepen from skill into flow as you navigate emotion and complexity with grace.
- Observations, saboteurs, conflict, and metaphor
- Coaching within systems and ethical frameworks
- Professional identity and confidence as a coach
- Access to our monthly Coaching Dojo
9 Classes • 4 Coaching Labs (on Thursdays) • 2 Recording Reviews (on Thursday)
Mentor Coaching Program - Jun 1, 2027 thru Sep 28, 2027, Every Other Tuesday at 2:30pm Pacific time
Personalized Guidance toward Credential Readiness
At Monarch, mentor coaching isn’t a checkbox — it’s a sacred apprenticeship in presence.
We go beyond the ICF’s requirement of 10 hours to offer 17 hours of intentionally designed mentorship for profound growth.
You’ll receive:
- 14 hours of group mentor coaching in a reflective, supportive cohort
- 3 hours of individual mentor coaching tailored to your developmental edges
- 2 graded recordings with detailed written and verbal feedback
- Access to recordings and transcripts graded at the ACC, PCC, and MCC levels
Our focus is not only on demonstrating competencies but on embodying them.
Your coach training may have begun somewhere else. Your next season of becoming is welcome here.
Through compassionate challenge, reflective dialogue, and nervous-system-aware feedback,
you’ll experience measurable growth in both confidence and presence.
This is mentorship as partnership — spacious, sacred, and alive with possibility.
Outcome: Confident readiness for your ICF credential.
Testimonials
~ Current Student
"This was my second time taking an ICF-ACC certification course; life got in the way the first time in spite of me doing a lot of the work. I decided to take Karen's ICF-ACC to brush up on my knowledge and the difference is astounding. In my first journey, the other instructor was fantastic in showing me how to be a competent coach in skills and framework of coaching. Karen's course teaches about being human. She gives you not only the tools to be a great coach but a journey that forces you to look inward and confront your own issues in order to truly be human partnering with another human. This journey had me look at my pride and see how much damage it has wrought in my life; damage all caused by me and my choices.
I have also learned to be far kinder to myself and to others. I have learned to ask questions first instead of assuming I know what someone means. I am not perfect at it, but I get better every day with the teachings of Karen and the safety net of my classmates to be caught when I stumble. If you are looking for your next step in growth, do not hesitate to sign up for her courses. I guarantee, no matter your knowledge level, you will learn from her. She teaches with examples at the ACC, PCC, and MCC level, drawn from both classroom and real-life scenarios. The range helps students build transformational coaching habits from day one, instead of picking up habits you'll later have to unlearn.
All that being said, you as the student will only get out of it the effort you put in. Karen can and does help you get there, but you have to work for it and be willing to be honest with yourself in reflection. It is hard work but you will be all the better for it and the humans you partner with in coaching will end off all the better as well. Do yourself a favor and sign up!"
Sriharsha B, ICF-ACC Coach
"It is my pleasure to write something about Karen Bruns as she was an integral part of my coaching journey.
I am super thankful for all the amazing help and advice she gave me while I was working on getting my Associate Certified Coach (ACC) certification from the International Coaching Federation. From the get-go, she was super smart about all the coaching stuff and really, really cared about me doing well.
Her chillness and willingness to get what I was going through was huge. She'd listen to me talk and then give feedback that was actually useful, which totally helped me get better at the coaching gig and feel like I could do it. Every time we talked, it felt like a safe place where I could spill my guts about the hard parts and the parts where I felt like a champ without worrying what she'd think about me.
What's really cool about Karen is that she's got this energy that makes you want to be better. She's totally into coaching and it's like you can feel it when you're around her. She'd share her own stories and tips, which made me see the whole thing in a different way and figure out how to do it my way.
Because of her being there for me, I not only got that ACC thing, but I also became a coach that I'm proud of. If you're looking for someone to help you with your coaching journey, she's the person.com :) She's an amazing mentor and I'm so lucky she was there with me through it all!"I am so grateful for Karen."
Simas Torgovickis, ICF-ACC Coach
"Working with Karen as my ICF coach trainer has been an incredible self-reflection journey. She helped me to increase my self-awareness while working with clients, teaching me the power of silence, and how to observe the environment.
Karen’s coaching approach was very honest and to the point. She brought her vast experience to our sessions, offering invaluable guidance on how to engage with clients, support them effectively, and make coaching conversations feel more natural.
Karen taught me that sometimes, embracing uncomfortable silence can be a game-changer, sparking insights for both me and my clients. Karen also encouraged me to observe my reactions, which helped me improve my coaching skills by reflecting on how I could be more present.
I absolutely recommend Karen as an ICF coach, trainer, and mentor. Her broad experience, honesty, and ability to connect as a human being makes her an exceptional coach and a valuable teacher for anyone on their ICF journey."
Xavier Angenot, ICF-ACC Coach
"Karen has been accompanying me on a mentoring journey that is both deep and rigorously accurate. This is a rare combination that continually strengthens my coaching posture and presence. Her guidance supports me in truly embodying the core competencies of our profession, not as a checklist to perform but as a living practice that allows my clients to benefit fully from their own work and insights.
Through our work together, I grow in my capacity to “be” rather than “do,” to bring myself with gentleness and clarity, while creating spaciousness for my clients to unfold their narratives and wisdom in their own rhythm.
What strikes me most is how profoundly human Karen is in her mentoring. She brings warmth, authenticity, and grounded compassion. Karen is never complacent, always caring. Her reflections are precise and finely attuned: she notices what is present, what is emerging, and what remains unsaid. She challenges with kindness, invites courage without pressure, and models the ethical, relational maturity that our craft requires. In every session, I feel both held and stretched and accompanied as a fellow practitioner and respected as a whole person.
Karen has an exceptional ability to prepare coaches not only to demonstrate competencies, but to truly inhabit them. She mentors with a sharp sense of intention: helping me refine my presence, deepen my listening, and cultivate the discipline of giving genuine space to my clients.
Her approach strengthens my discernment: when to step in, when to step back, how to trust silence, and how to remain fully available without directing or shaping the client’s experience. Through her mentoring, I continue to discover new layers of humility, awareness, and ethical responsibility in my practice as a coach.
Even after many years of training, certifications, and diverse professional and personal coaching experiences across cultures, groups, teams, and individuals, I keep learning at every step with Karen. Our mentoring conversations are precise, insightful, sometimes gently humorous, always anchored in curiosity and care. They are a place where my practice evolves, not by accumulation of techniques, but through refinement of my presence, depth of reflection, and alignment with who I am as a coach.
I am grateful to continue this journey with Karen as a mentor. Her contribution to my development is enduring: she supports my growth as a reflective practitioner, strengthens my confidence in my inner compass, and accompanies me in becoming a more conscious, spacious, and service-oriented coach. The learning I experience through her mentorship is living, generative, and continually renewing as a true companion to my ongoing evolution as a professional coach."