PACT'S INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF SOCIAL CHANGE
Trauma-informed coaching for youth with complex needs
A four-day ICF accredited professional training for life coaches and youth-serving practitioners who want to work with greater confidence, skill and care in complex situations.
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Live virtual · Small cohort · 30 ICF CCE hours · Fall 2026
Coaching training prepares us to ask powerful questions, listen deeply and support change.
But working with youth affected by trauma, instability, system involvement or chronic stress requires additional judgment, awareness and skill.
This program helps practitioners recognize what may be happening beneath behaviour, establish emotional safety, maintain appropriate coaching boundaries and adapt their approach without diagnosing or moving outside the coaching role.
WHO IT'S FOR
Specialized and practical skills, built for professionals already doing the work
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Youth workers and frontline practitioners supporting youth in community, school or residential settings
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ICF coaches currently coaching youth or expanding into youth-serving work
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Youth justice and social-service professionals seeking a structured coaching approach
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Educators, mentors and program leaders supporting youth development
Where strong coaching skills meet the realities of coaching youth with complex needs
Earn ICF Continuing Coach Education hours while developing trauma-informed capabilities rarely addressed in conventional coach training.
Build a more capable, ethical and responsive practice for supporting young people whose lives require greater awareness and care.
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The Trauma-Informed Coaching for High-Needs Youth 4-day program is delivered through a live, interactive virtual learning environment that combines theory, reflection, discussion, and practical application.
Participants receive
20 ICF CCE core competency hours
10 Resource development credits
Small cohort, case-based practice
Ongoing monthly mentorship
Progressive role plays based on real-world coaching situations
Facilitated coaching practice with feedback
Peer collaboration and reflection
Certificate of Completion
"One of the most meaningful experiences of my career..."
TESTIMONIAL FROM A PACT COACH
BUILT FROM PRACTICE
Why PACT
The Trauma-Informed Coaching for High-Needs Youth specialized program draws on more than two decades of PACT’s frontline experience supporting young people facing complex challenges, including involvement in the justice system. The curriculum is grounded in the realities PACT LifePlan Coaches encounter every day and was further tested and refined through a practitioner beta cohort.​
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Participants learn from an organization that has not simply studied this work, but has lived it—developing practical, relationship-centred approaches alongside the young people and communities it serves.
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Learn more - read the Acknowledgements here.
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Meet the Leadership and Faculty
Wendy Fortune
Adria Trowhill
Rachel Schwab
By the end of the four-day youth coaching program, participants will be better equipped to:
Establish safety, trust and clear coaching boundaries
Determine when to continue coaching, adapt the conversation or refer
Apply ICF competencies in complex youth-coaching situations
Recognize possible trauma responses without diagnosing
Respond constructively to resistance, withdrawal and dysregulation
Maintain presence & judgment when a session becomes emotionally charged
FROM THE BETA COHORT
“So many takeaways in this program. Importantly I learned how deeply rooted trauma is in our nervous system and how to help clients regulate. I learned how co-regulation is essential to support a client to bring them into a present state.”
~ new PACT youth coach
What the 4 days look like
Live instruction · Real-world cases · Progressive role play · Direct feedback · Continued mentorship
Day 1 — Foundations, Coaching Mindset, Trust & the PACT Pyramid
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Understanding risk and trauma factors
Coach client agreements
Trust, safety and the relationship
Day 3 — Trauma-informed Practice, Strengths-Based Coaching
Early, mid stages of coaching
Trauma, triggers
Teen brain, neuroscience of trauma
Day 2 - Coaching Presence, Self-Awareness, Emotional Regulation & Self-Care
Empathy & bias
Managing rupture moments
Maintaining presence
Day 4 - Late Stage Coaching, Resilience, DEI & Ethical Closure
Vulnerability, shame and resilience
Systemic influence, bias, perception
Judger Learner Model
Leave better prepared for the moments that require more than a coaching script
Learn more about the Program:
