Two logos can cover very different work. This page shows you the difference in a few minutes, so you know what you're buying and what to ask on every call, including ours.
A coaching accreditation checks that a course teaches coaching. A complementary therapy accreditation sets a standard for each modality, so you can be insured to practise it.
| Sets a standard for | Coaching accreditatione.g. ICF | Complementary therapy accreditatione.g. IICT |
|---|---|---|
| Life & transformational coaching | Covered | Covered |
| Hypnotherapy | Not covered | Covered |
| Breathwork | Not covered | Covered |
| Meditation | Not covered | Covered |
| Energy healing | Not covered | Covered |
| Insurance for each modality | Coaching only | Each one |
ICF accredits coach training against its definition of coaching, its core competencies and its code of ethics. It doesn't set a standard for the other modalities above. Both are real, respected bodies. They just answer different questions.
Before you compare prices or hours, get clear on the work you want to do with clients.
ICF is the name most people know in the corporate world. If coaching conversations are all you want to offer, it's built for that.
You don't give up the coaching. IICT accredits transformational coaching too, so you're trained, recognised and insurable as a coach and for each other modality you use with clients.
Any good coaching qualification can get you coaching insurance. The question is what it covers when you run a breathwork or hypnosis session.
Ask which certificates the accreditation covers. It may be one course, not all of them.
Ask if you get a separate certificate for it, and if you can be insured to practise it.
Being a member of a body is not the same as being accredited by it. Ask which it is.
Ask for the hours in each certificate, and how much of it is live with a trainer.
Practising on other students helps, but supervised sessions with real clients matter more.
Real accreditation shows up on the body's own website. If the school isn't there, ask why.
Ask every school the same questions, then compare the answers side by side.
Our work is transformational. One of our six certifications is coaching, and the other five go well beyond it, so we hold all of it to a complementary therapy standard. We're dual accredited: an IICT Premier Training Provider, and accredited through IPHM for every certification.
If you want ICF's ACC or PCC in particular, you'll need an ICF accredited course.
IICT and IPHM are independent professional bodies. We're not an RTO.
Our graduates aren't doctors or psychologists, and they refer clients on when needed.
Look us up on both registers, and read what ICF says about its own accreditation.
IICT register IPHM listing ICF accreditation
Facts about ICF on this page come from coachingfederation.org and were checked in October 2026. ICF and IICT are independent bodies and are not connected with Quantum Key Institute beyond our IICT accreditation.
Bring the seven questions to a call with us, and we'll answer every one of them straight.
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