The Gentle Sleep Coach Program is the first and most extensive professional sleep coach training and certification program available worldwide. The program involves a strict selection procedure and over 90 hours of training with a faculty expert panel that includes medical doctors, a psychologist, an attorney, lactation counsellor, postpartum doulas and a family therapist. Each coach must pass exams, and participate in case mentorship with Kim West, LCSW-C (a.k.a. “the Sleep Lady”) who is the Gentle Sleep Coach industry founder and has been helping tired parents for over 25 years. Clinical mentorship and ongoing advanced training are required to maintain certification as a Gentle Sleep Coach®.
Below you will find some examples of the subjects we followed:
Basic counselling and child development
Sleep science and behavioural modification techniques to help parents of children aged 0-6 years old
Secure attachment theory
Support of the breastfeeding mother
The training also consisted of lectures from top paediatric and post-natal specialists, including:
Postpartum depression from Dr Shoshana Bennett, author and leading specialist on Postpartum Depression
Medical Conditions and Sleep Apnea in Children led by Dr. Lewis Kass, Director of Children’s Sleep Center
GERD and Sleep led by Dr. Anthony Loizides,
paediatric gastroenterologists
0-5-Month-Old Training Summary
The GSC Program also includes exclusive advanced training specifically focused on how to gently work with babies 0-5 months of age using the Baby-Led Sleep Shaping and Coaching frameworks.
This gentle approach aids families to first shape their baby's sleep and then when appropriate (and according to their baby's unique temperament) offer alternatives to the “cry it out" method for newborns, based on an infant's developmental readiness to self-soothe.
Some of the curriculum training topics include:
How feeding, attachment, soothing, and temperament all factor into your infant's sleep
The key developmental milestones from birth through five months and how to encourage sleep at every stage.
Safe co-sleeping guidelines
Guidance on how to assess when the baby is ready for sleep coaching based on current research and evidence-based strategies
This specialty training is designed to give Gentle Sleep Coaches the knowledge, education, and all the tools and resources they need to successfully work with families of newborns through 5 months of age in a safe, healthy, and developmentally appropriate manner.
I am extremely proud to have graduated as a Gentle Sleep Coach and have been trained by Kim West, LCSW. She is a guru regarding baby and paediatric sleep, writer of numerous books, and founder of Gentle Sleep Coaching, gentle, gradual and with as little tears as possible. I am grateful to be mentored by her and to be part of the Gentle Sleep Coaches community worldwide.
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