Incorporating Life Coaching Techniques into Fostering Social Work
An innovative training course for modern social work practice
This training is designed for fostering agencies, local authorities, managers, and social workers who are passionate about their own development and committed to improving their practice.
I created this course after witnessing—time and again—the frustration and helplessness social workers feel (myself included) when professional advice doesn’t lead to real change in how foster carers respond to challenges. These struggles can create instability in placements, and in the most difficult situations, contribute to placement breakdowns.
The work of helping foster carers discover and overcome their limitations needs to begin early—before challenges escalate into crises. But this is not an easy journey. Even the most open and willing foster carers can find it hard to shift long-standing ways of thinking and reacting. Social workers may offer guidance and support, but too often their advice is only partially implemented. This leads to frustration, disconnection, and a weakened professional relationship between carer and social worker.
This is where life coaching techniques—when applied consistently and skilfully—can make a real difference.
This course is born out of a desire to equip professionals with powerful, innovative tools that go beyond traditional interventions—tools that foster genuine reflection, empower foster carers, and ultimately support better outcomes for children and young people.
You will learn how to integrate life coaching methods into your current practice – whether during supervision sessions, day-to-day support, or reflective discussions – you will learn how to help foster carers take true ownership of their own development and unlock their potential for growth, resilience, and behavioural change.
Whether you’re a supervising social worker, a team leader, or a fostering manager, this training will strengthen your ability to build stronger, more collaborative relationships with carers and deliver deeper, longer-lasting impact in your work.
Change starts with a different kind of conversation.
for You
By the end of this training, you will:
- Understand the common challenges in the listening process — and how to turn them into strategies for more effective and intentional listening.
- Master the stages of the listening process and learn how to use each stage to your advantage when working with foster carers.
- Gain a clear understanding of what life coaching is — and is not — based on the International Coaching Federation (ICF) model.
- Become familiar with the general structure of a life coaching session and how it can inform your work with carers.
- Explore the similarities and differences between life coaching discussions and foster carer supervision.
- Learn how to help foster carers build a motivating, strengths-based vision for the future.
- Use powerful tools like the “Life Wheel” to assess and support carers’ self-awareness and goal setting.
- Discover how to engage carers’ imagination and use “Cartesian questions” to unlock new perspectives and possibilities.
- Apply a simple “commitment test” to assess carers’ readiness for action and learn effective ways to close reflective sessions.
- Understand the broader benefits of life coaching techniques for your professional practice—and for your own personal growth.
Ready to LEARN mORE?