RCI’s Couples Relationship Coach Training is designed to provide you the skills, support and confidence needed to work with couples. Participants access the course materials through an online “classroom” and call in weekly to meet with their instructor and class mates using a telephone or internet webcall.
Note: RCI’s Couples Relationship Coach self-study program does not include any class meetings, lab meetings with peers or interaction with a trainer.
Couples Relationship Coach Training Curriculum
RC1: Foundations of Relationship Coaching (RC1-FRC)
The professional standard in the coaching industry is highlighted in this informative, and in-depth exploration of the UPDATED ICF Core Competencies, including an in-depth look at the ICF Code of Ethics. We'll explore how the Core Competencies show up as coaching skills and practice putting those skills in action!
- Meets once per week for 1 hour for class with instructor for 11 weeks
- Lab Teams meet once per week for 1.5 hours to complete assignments and to practice skills
- Additional time commitment to complete homework: Approximately 2-3 hours/week
RC1 Syllabus
- Orientation and Training Prep
- What is Coaching?
- Anatomy of a Coaching Session
- Demonstrates Ethical Practice (ICF Core Competency#1)
- Embodies a Coaching Mindset (ICF Core Competency#2)
- Establishes and Maintains Agreements (ICF Core Competency#3)
- Cultivates Trust and Safety (ICF Core Competency#4)
- Maintains Presence (ICF Core Competency#5)
- Listens Actively (ICF Core Competency#6)
- Evokes Awareness (ICF Core Competency#7)
- Facilitates Client Growth (ICF Core Competency#8)
RC2: Coaching Skills Labs (RC2-CSL)
The most effective way to improve your coaching skills is to practice in the presence of others who can provide you honest and real-time feedback. This safe and supportive setting will provide you the space and the safe feedback to hone your ability to apply the Core Competencies to coach with ease and confidence.
- Meets once per week for 1 hour for class with instructor for 7 weeks
- Lab Teams meet once per week for 1.5 hours to complete assignments and to practice skills
- Additional time commitment to complete homework: Approximately 2-3 hours/week
RC2 Syllabus
- Coaching Observation
- Coaching Skills Lab 1
- Coaching Skills Lab 2
- Coaching Skills Lab 3
- Coaching Skills Lab 4
- Coaching Skills Lab 5
- Coaching Skills Lab 6
RC3: Relationship Coaching Paradigms (RC3-RCP)
You need a lot more than mastering the Core Competencies to be an effective coach. In this training, we'll show you how you communicate with prospects to turn them into clients, and how to create and use your coaching agreement and start your new clients off right in your intake session.
Coaching is all about endless possibilities and empowering the client to make decisions that work for them. Paradigms allow us to explore topics within a framework without imposing our agenda or providing answers to our clients.
- Meets once per week for 1 hour for class with instructor for 10 weeks
- Lab Teams meet once per week for 1.5 hours to complete assignments and to practice skills
- Additional time commitment to complete homework: Approximately 2-3 hours/week
RC3 Syllabus
- Creating your Coaching Welcome Package
- Enrollment
- Singles Client Intake
- Couples Client Intake
- Scope of Relationship Coaching
- Basics of Coaching Singles and Couples
- Coaching Requirements, Needs and Wants
- Communication Map
- Interpersonal Awareness Coaching Paradigms
- Client Obstacles and Challenges to Success
RC7: Coaching Pre-committed / Premarital Couples (RC7-PCPM)
This program provides specific coaching tools for working with pre-committed and pre-marital couples, focusing on issues that are specific to these demographics.
- Meets once per week for 1 hour for class with instructor for 6 weeks
- Lab Teams meet once per week for 1.5 hours to complete assignments and to practice skills
- Additional time commitment to complete homework: Approximately 2-3 hours/week
RC7 Syllabus
- Getting Started with Pre-Committed and Pre-Marital Couples
- Using Exercises for Coaching Pre-Committed and Pre-Marital Couples
- Coaching Vision for Pre-Committed and Pre-Marital Couples
- Evaluating and Assessing Compatibility
- Determining the Future of the Relationship
- Dealing with Reality
RC8: Coaching Committed Couples (RC8-CCC)
This program provides specific coaching tools for working with Committed Couples.
- Meets once per week for 1 hour for class with instructor for 6 weeks
- Lab Teams meet once per week for 1.5 hours to complete assignments and to practice skills
- Additional time commitment to complete homework: Approximately 2-3 hours/week
RC8 Syllabus
- Beginning with a Committed Couple
- Commitment & Taking Personal Responsibility
- Communication
- Solving Problems
- Intimacy and Sex - Foundations and Functionality
- Private Couple Rituals & Celebrations
RC9: Coaching Advanced Partnerships (RC9-CAP)
This program provides specific coaching tools and skills required for working with functioning, committed couples who want to deepen their level of intimacy and connection, and co-create a blissful union.
- Meets once per week for 1 hour for class with instructor for 7 weeks
- Lab Teams meet once per week for 1.5 hours to complete assignments and to practice skills
- Additional time commitment to complete homework: Approximately 2-3 hours/week
RC9 Syllabus
- Beyond Happily Ever After
- Radical Commitment
- Radical Communication: Communicating to Solve Problems
- Radical Communication: Communicating to Connect
- Radical Intimacy and Radical Romance
- Radical Sex
- Living the Radical Life Together
RC10: Coaching Skills Lab – Couples (RC10-CSL-C)
The most effective way to improve your coaching skills is to practice in the presence of others who can provide you honest and real-time feedback. This safe and supportive setting will provide you the space and the safe feedback needed to hone your ability to coach your couple clients.
- Meets once per week for 1 hour for class with instructor for 5 weeks
- Lab Teams meet once per week for 1.5 hours to complete assignments and to practice skills
- Additional time commitment to complete homework: Approximately 2-3 hours/week
RC10 Syllabus:
- Couples Clients Coaching Observation
- Coaching Skills Lab C1
- Coaching Skills Lab C2
- Coaching Skills Lab C3
- Coaching Skills Lab C4
Meet our Couples Coach Trainer

About Kim: As an Instructor for RCI’s Couples Coaching Program I love helping train our coaches to acquire the very unique ability to coach a couple and the dance required for coaching two people as opposed to a single client. I trained with Gottman Institute and trained with RCI and certified as a Master Relationship Coach. I am also a Mentor Coach and help empower other coaches to have successful and fulfilling coaching practices. My coaching practice is non-profit Sailing Happily Ever After, Inc., I partner with couples with amazing and adventurous lifestyles to have an equally amazing and adventurous love life. I help them be clear about their vision and resolve any conflict or obstacles that can get in the way of living their dreams. I am a USCG Sailing Captain and love getting out on the water whenever I can. More about Kim
What Our Members Say About Couples Coach Training
Megan Darling

The RCI coaching program is the absolute best in it’s field. The concepts and content are exceptional. RCI is helping couples worldwide to live an emotionally healthier and more connected life together.
Annette Carpien models the skills being taught
“Annette Carpien is a seasoned professional coach and instructor who models the skills being taught. She is respectful of her students from diverse backgrounds/professions. I have grasped the foundational piece to couples coaching, and I highly recommend her for relationship coach training.”
Very encouraging as an instructor…
“Annette was a good instructor she had a very warm voice and attitude and was very encouraging as an instructor.”
Plethora of coaching tools
“Thanks Annette, you make coaching very relaxed and easy to do. I know with time I will be able to be confident with my coaching practice. The questions and insights that was brought up in class made me take a much broader view about relationships rather they are pre-committed, committed or blissful marriage. Besides the plethora of tools to our disposal Annette equipped our class to be excited about the coaching field. Thank You!!!!!!”
Brooke Miller

“The Couples Training was such an amazing experience in so many ways! It was clear, insightful and practical, distilling complex material into simple, accessible truths with concrete suggestions for implementation. My work as a therapist has been positively impacted by many things I have learned in this course, and my work as a Relationship Coach now has a solid foundation to build on. On a personal level, I have learned what is possible and how to reverse-engineer the relationship of my dreams! Many, many thanks for all of the invaluable information and support. I am so grateful I made the decision to join RCI!”
You enabled us to effectively use the tools we learned
“Your ‘pulling it all together’ during the last class of the Couples Coaching Training helped me realize how much we covered and how much I learned in this teleclass. I now have a much better understanding of the skills we have as coaches to use with our couples clients and I’m excited about using them with my future clients. Your depth of experience working with couples was very evident in this class, and you presented the material in a way that will enable us to effectively use the tools we learned with our clients. Thanks for your energy and dedication.”
The work David and Linda have done is excellent!
“I recently completed the couples coaching training, and the work David and Linda have done is excellent! What I gained is equal in value to the benefit I received from RESTS. Now I can be immediately available to every potential client, whatever their current relationship status.”
Easy to understand and use…

“Annette’s coaching, explanation of the material and sample questions to use for labs made the principles of Committed Couples easy to understand and use.”
Yasmin Abouelhassan

“I have just completed my Couples Coaching Training. In a 6 months journey I have finished 4 Couples training programs each of which was a rich experience of its own. RCI is unique in the richness of material, immediate support and valuable feedback throughout the whole journey. The Team is highly professional, experienced and friendly.
The Knowledge is presented in a variety of ways that together create the rich experience of understanding and applying yet have room to be true to who I really am as a coach and as a person.
I’m proud to be an RCI graduate.”
Robert Clarke

“I found the course very interesting, credit goes out to RCI. The knowledge I have received is invaluable. I did on occassion find it challenging but that is the driver to keep going moving out of my comfort zone to work harder to achieve the desire goal of completing the course. Thoroughly enjoyed the course totally different from my background, but through this training I believe I can make a difference in peoples lives.
If you have ever considered working in the coaching industry and want to become a true leader in the Relationship field. I, 100% recommend the Relationship Coaching Institute. There professionalism, training and the will to create a fantastic coach seems effortless – so if you need a coaching organisation ensure you get in contact RCI.”
I have been so pleased with my journey with RCI
“I just finished Couples Coaching Training Level III. I have been so pleased with my journey with RCI. The level of support, information, guidance, enthusiasm, professionalism and competence is remarkable. We all wanted the class to continue. How fortunate we are to have teachers, mentors of that caliber. What an opportunity to be with one that is so competent, knowledgeable and a mentor that was willing to go beyond. Thank you for providing me the opportunity to learn from a mentor such as Linda.”
The Couples Training was such an amazing experience in so many ways!

“First, I have found everything David Steele writes to be clear, insightful and applicable. He has an amazing talent for distilling complex material into simple, accessible truths with concrete suggestions for implementation. He is a genius in the relationship field!! The instructor, Annette Carpien, was always so warm, approachable and positive. She did such a wonderful job of presenting the material, answering any question that was thrown at her and encouraging class discussion. My work as a therapist has been positively impacted by many things I have learned in this course, and my work as a Relationship Coach now has a solid foundation to build on. On a personal level, I have learned what is possible and how to reverse-engineer the relationship of my dreams! Many, many thanks to RCI for all of the invaluable information and support. I am so grateful I made the decision to join!”
Kim is an excellent instructor.

“She presented with clarity, shared her expertise as well as her own relevant personal experience in coaching as well as her own experiences in life. She has a great balance of gravity and buoyancy. She was very affirming, offered clear critic and suggestions. She made the class interesting, compelling. She engaged us in the material. The review of coaching sessions while terrifying to me (Just kidding :<) were excellent, constructive deep dives into our specific approaches. She did an excellent job reviewing and explaining the concepts and applicable tools to be used when coaching pre-committed and pre-marital couples. It really came through that she is a master couples coach. She was an excellent coach to us as well: encouraging us in our learning, valuing our differences, noticing our successes. This was a fun and very clarifying, equipping class for me.
I have worked with couples as couples therapist for 18 years and I learned things in this class, was given tools that I wish I had much earlier than now. I also am fully “In” on coaching and so glad to be able to leave the therapy world behind, while I am grateful for it, this has been so renewing, revitalizing and further equipping me for working with couples. I am excited again!!
Just want to say that I believe that David’s work, model, paradigm for pre-committed and pre-marital couples is a real breakthrough. I have worked for years with couples, have completed the three levels of Gottman training. I have also used Prep, Prepare and Imago resources. I also did premarital couples counseling for years as a Presbyterian minister. I have seen in vivo, couples locked in the pinnings of commitment and yet not right for each other.
Ok, a long statement (smile) to say, the Pre-committed and Pre-marital coaching concepts and tools are a huge breakthrough. I have not seen anything like this anywhere else. I now have the tools, strategies, paradigms and concepts to help couples find partners for life and avoid relationships that are broken and don’t work. Tremendous!!”