certification · 12 weeks

Become a Coach

Walk alongside people building their village.

A structured 12-week certification for people who want to coach using the Grand Matriarchy framework — building kin networks, navigating grandfamily caregiving, repairing fractured family systems. Designed for people who already do some version of this work informally and want to do it well.

Apply for Next Cohort

The 12-Week Curriculum

Week 1 — The FrameworkThe argument from the book. Why structural thinking beats sentimental thinking.

Week 2 — Kin Network MappingHow to draw a client's network. What to listen for. What gaps mean.

Week 3 — The Two-Hour Test in PracticeDiagnostic-as-conversation. Reading the answers between the lines.

Week 4 — Generosity EcologyFrom GMG. How to spot charity-mode dynamics and shift toward circulating systems.

Week 5 — Grandfamily DynamicsFrom GMV. The practical and legal terrain for kinship caregivers.

Week 6 — Relationship MechanismFrom GMR. Community context for partnership work without overstepping.

Week 7 — Holding the Hard ConversationNaming what's broken without breaking the relationship.

Week 8 — Ethics + ScopeWhat coaching is not. Therapy referrals. Legal referrals. Mandatory reporting.

Week 9 — Building Your PracticePricing, scheduling, contracts, intake. The business of doing this work.

Week 10 — Practicum: First ClientTake on one real client (low-pressure setting) with a senior coach observing.

Week 11 — Practicum: DebriefWhat happened. What you would do differently. Peer feedback.

Week 12 — CertificationFinal review. Credential issued. Coach Directory listing.

Who This Is For

Family therapists who want a structural framework. Social workers who want to add coaching to their practice. Pastors and chaplains who already do this work informally. Adult-children-of-aging-parents who want to help others in their position. Anyone for whom this framework clicked and who wants to do it formally.

Cost: $5,000 for the certification. $500/yr to maintain. Scholarships available for community-rooted applicants from underrepresented populations.

Per the credentialed-action doctrine: coaching is a credentialed role. The certification is verifiable; the recertification is annual; the directory is public.