HEART-STRONG International
Advanced Certification Programs
Trauma- Informed Certified Parent Coach
Trauma-Informed Certified Educational Trainer
Supporting Children with Trauma, ACES, & Anxiety
Enrollment Open Now | Begins in June | $3997
Prerequisite:
To enroll in the Professional Certification Programs,
you must first successfully complete the
Trauma-Informed Specialist Certification Program.
Educators: Optional – 4 Graduate Credits Available
from University of the Pacific
(Additional fee of $99 per credit hour for an official transcript)
For more information about upcoming cohorts, please send an email to Support@WingBuilder.com
The HEART-STRONG Vision: Video Overview
Become a Professional Certified
Trauma-Informed Changemaker!
As a Certified Parent Coach or Certified Educational Trainer, you will become a
trusted expert helping parents and teachers of children with trauma, ACES, and anxiety.
Take charge of your career, and earn a certification that will allow you to pursue your passion
while also having a positive impact on the lives of children and their caregivers!
Want more information? Send an email to Support@WingBuilder.com
Start in June 2022 – Self-paced
* Note: This program is open to those who have successfully completed all requirements for the HEART-STRONG International Trauma Informed Specialist program. Please visit the program page for more information about that program. If you have significant background and experience in the area of trauma, you can enroll in this program simultaneously with the Trauma-Informed Specialist program – but only on a case-by-case basis. Talk with Sandi for details.
Cohort 7: Enrollment is now open to all who have either completed or are currently enrolled in the Trauma-Informed Specialist program.
Tuition – $3997
Payment Plans available – contact us at Support@WingBuilder.com
What is included in the training?
Live training and discussions via Zoom.
Access to all of the HEART-STRONG™ Parenting and/or Teaching training materials.
Charts and templates to assist in your coaching and business planning.
Readings by experts in the field to support your coaching practice.
Two private feedback sessions to support you with coaching and training.
Permission to use all of the HEART-STRONG™ International instructional materials in your trainings and coaching through annual licensing (one year free – after that, $250 annual licensing fee).
What makes this Parent Coach/ Educational Trainer Certification Program unique?
1. COMPREHENSIVE: This is the ONLY comprehensive Parent Coach and Educational Trainer Certification program specifically designed to support parents of children with Complex Developmental Trauma, Anxiety, and ACEs. The methods are applicable to all children with behavior challenges.
2. WE GO THERE: The training includes modules on working with highly explosive, aggressive children – something that other programs usually avoid discussing.
3. EFFECTIVE: The HEART-STRONG™ Parenting System is a proven, effective method of supporting children to move from chaos to connection and communication while teaching collaborative skills to support executive function.
4. EXPERTISE: Sandi Lerman is a Certified Professional Coach, has an MA in Education, has taught Trauma-Informed Educational Practices at the graduate university level, has extensive business experience and has been working with parents and families for over 20 years as an educator, family liaison, and parent educator. She knows how to help parents and educators and also knows how to teach.
5. PRACTICAL: Many programs are heavy on theory but don’t offer in-the-trenches, practical solutions. This program offers both.
6. EASE: You can do the entire program from home, without leaving the house to attend classes! All program materials are online and via Zoom.
7. SAVE TIME and MONEY: This program is affordable and the training is only 8 months long to receive your Certified HEART-STRONG™ Parent Coach or Educational Trainer qualification.The typical parent and family education degree from a university will cost from $25,000 – 50,000. Other online parent coach programs are typically in the range of $7,000 – 15,000, and some of them take one or two years to complete.
8. BUSINESS COURSE: Most parent coach training and educational trainer programs do not include business training. This program includes an optional month of training on how to set up your business and get new parent coaching clients right away.
Want more information?
Send an email to Support@WingBuilder.com
ENROLL NOW
Advanced Certification: Certified Parent Coach and Educational Trainer
$3997
F.A.Q.
1. When will the training calls take place, and what if I’m in a different time zone?
Training calls will be once a week, via Zoom, in the evening (Eastern Time). Once we know how many participants will be joining us, we will send you the exact dates and a detailed schedule.
Calls will be recorded and available to you within 24-48 hours after the original training call. We have successfully worked with participants in three different countries and multiple time zones — if you cannot make it to the live calls, you can still join us!
2. What does the HEART-STRONG Certified Parent Coach credential or Educational Trainer credential actually mean, and what does it give me the ability to do professionally?
The certificate for this program lets others know that you have been through a program to train you specifically how to work with the population that we are focusing on – parents and/or teachers of children with complex developmental trauma. It means that you have the training to provide resources and support families as a Parent Coach or Educational Trainer.
While we will focus on working with resolving behavior issues associated with trauma, this program will provide practical tools and ideas for all parents and teachers. Parent Coaches provide parent-to-parent support, information, parenting strategies, and ideas for organization, self-care, and effective communicating with professionals. Educational Trainers provide workshops, educational coaching, and training on a short or long-term basis for schools and/or individual teachers and families.
NOTE: These credentials are NOT equivalent to a teaching license or any kind of mental health or social work qualification. For those professions, you will need to go to a university to obtain the appropriate degree and follow your local guidelines for state licensure.
3. What is the official agency or body that provides the certification?
The HEART-STRONG™ Parent Coach Certificate and/or HEART-STRONG ™ Certified Educational Trainer Certificate is earned upon completion of the HEART-STRONG™ International training curriculum and is offered by HEART-STRONG International, a division of WingBuilder, LLC. Parent Education, Educational Trainer, and Coaching is not a licensure program and does not qualify coaches to perform any other service but coaching.
The certificate is a document stating that you have completed the training program and that you have the training to provide this particular service, following the HEART-STRONG model. It is NOT a medical license, social work degree, counseling degree, teaching degree, or any other degree program.
You may apply for graduate credit units through University of the Pacific. For details, click here.
You may also be able to apply for CEU’s for your ongoing professional development; however, this is not a guarantee and will depend on the requirements of your professional licensing body.
4. Can I take this program if I live in another country?
Yes, you can take this program from anywhere in the world! Again, if you are seeking a specific licensure for a specific profession, you will need to check your country, state, or province for their credentialing regulations and procedures.
5. Is there any guarantee that I will get coaching or training clients after completing this program?
Completing this program is NOT a guarantee of any income or a “get-rich-quick” program. The only thing we can guarantee is that we will give you all the tools you need to get your parent coaching business started. Your results will depend on a number of factors, including your commitment to implementing the strategies you learn, your work ethic, and your own natural talents and people skills.
This program is a training program, and that’s what you will receive – training. It’s up to you to do the work to get your business up and running, but as a result of this program, you will have a great foundation to do so!
Please note that purchasing the program alone is not a guarantee that you will receive a certification. As in all professional training programs, you muse successfully complete all program requirements before receiving your certification. You will have up to four months from your program start date to complete your certification requirements. If you need an extension due to personal emergency situations, you will need to make those arrangements in advance.
6. Who is Sandi Lerman, and what are her qualifications to provide this coach training program?
Sandi has been working with students and families for over 25 years as a K-12 teacher, program administrator, department chair, curriculum developer, parent liaison, parent educator, and community educator. She has also been an instructor in the Concordia University online program in Curriculum and Instruction: Trauma and Resilience in Educational Settings.
Sandi earned an MA Ed. in Education and is a Professional Certified Coach as well as a trained Mental Health First Aid (Youth) trainer, QPR Suicide Prevention trainer, Certified Compassion Fatigue Educator, and graduate of Marie Forleo’s acclaimed business training for online business owners.
She is the founder and CEO of WingBuilder LLC and the creator of the HEART-STRONG™ System, a proven system of growth and healing for children with complex developmental trauma.
Sandi knows a lot about trauma, child development, and parenting, but she is also an outstanding teacher and trainer. Her students and clients have often commented that she is able to make complex ideas easy to understand and implement, and that when working with her they feel a sense of encouragement, hope, and success!
She has taken multiple business trainings to hone her skills and is well connected with other successful online business owners in the field of coaching and training.
Most importantly, she is the parent of a child with complex developmental trauma who has experienced significant growth and healing since his adoption in 2011.
7. Is this an evidence-based parenting program? What research supports it?
The HEART-STRONG™ Parenting Program, is a model based on the latest research in the brain, regulation, and child social/emotional behavior. Some of the experts whose work are referenced in the program are listed below.
Here are just a few of the non-punitive, brain-based, and trauma-informed parenting and behavior experts whose work and ideas the model is based on:
Dr. Ross Greene
Dr. Mona Delahooke
Dr. Tina Payne Bryson
Dr. Dan Siegel
Dr. Laura Markham
Dr. Bruce Perry
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk
Dr. Brené Brown
Dr. Gordon Neufield
Dr. Gabor Maté
Dr. Becky Bailey
Dr. Howard Glaser
(and many more!)
Additionally, this model has been used successfully in hundreds of families and classrooms that have implemented it in their parenting to significantly reduce challenging behaviors and establish a strong relationship, regulation, and reciprocity.
8. Are there any restrictions or prerequisites for enrolling in this program? Do I have to be a parent (or teacher) to enroll?
All participants must first successfully complete the requirements for the Trauma-Informed Specialist Certificate before enrolling in the Parent Coach or Educational Trainer program. You must also be invited to enroll based on your participation and qualifications. We reserve the right to select only the most qualified candidates for this program.
The most important qualification is that you have a lot of compassion for children and families in distress and that you have the right qualities to become a Parent Coach or Educational Trainer. Coaches are good listeners with a knack for intuitive wisdom and an ability to help other feel at ease. Coaches are also coachable and open to feedback! Educational Trainers typically have some experience in the classroom or in other fields where they have practiced giving presentations to an audience of professionals.
Remember that this particular program is all about walking alongside parents and educators as a peer rather than providing professional, clinical diagnosis and treatment. Your unique parenting experiences are valuable, but your ability to listen and support another struggling parent with deep compassion and empathy is the most important quality that is needed!
It’s very important that all applicants to our programs are aligned with our mission and values. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion, as these are essential to our mission of preventing and healing childhood trauma. All our program participants and graduates are committed to supporting the elimination of systemic barriers of oppression that often are the root of childhood trauma. We celebrate and value Black lives, immigrant rights, and the rights of individuals and families who identify as LGBTQIA+..
If you have any special needs or requests to make the program more accessible to you because of a disability or learning difference, please let us know!
9. What is the difference between this program and other parent coach training programs?
This is a unique, high-touch program with lots of private mentoring and support. Some other parent coach training programs have higher numbers of participants without a lot of one-to-one interaction at a lower cost. They also do not also include business training and private one-to-one mentoring.
Excellent private business coaches typically charge between $5,000 – 8,000 for their services, or more. Some of the best-respected online parent coach training programs charge $5,000 – 9,000. And as I’m sure you know, a college degree in the field of parent and family education runs at approximately $15,000 – $45,000, depending on how many years of study and the degree you are seeking.
The HEART-STRONG™ Advance Certification Program: Certified Parent Coach and and the Certified Educational Traineris unique because it focuses on specific strategies for children with complex developmental trauma and extremely challenging behaviors that most other programs do not address. The program also will include information about setting up and marketing your own business in addition to or in place of working for a school, agency, or organization. People who are the CEO’s of their own coaching business can make significantly more money by working privately with families and/or doing consulting and training work.
10. How will you refer clients to me as a certified coach, and will my business then be considered part of HEART-STRONG International like a franchise?
I will not be acting as a formal referral service. Your business name will be unique to you, as well as any other materials you develop on your own, but when you use HEART-STRONG materials and methods, you’ll need to reference them appropriately each time you use them.
11. What happens to my certification if you close the HEART-STRONG International business for some reason?
You can still say that you are a HEART-STRONG Certified coach forever, since you’ve completed the program. If I decide to close the business or transfer ownership, someone will contact you to update the terms of any agreements we have made, but as for your clients, I have never had anyone ask me specifically where I got my coaching license from. Most of the time they are more interested in your actual results and effectiveness as a coach than whether you graduated from a specific college or program, but if you have materials that really work well, this puts you way ahead of all the others out there who don’t know what to do about very explosive and aggressive kids.