Advanced Parent Certification

Step 1: Send in your DVD for review (see #9) and certification fee along with the following forms: Application Form (#1), Brief letter summarizing the session/topic covered and population served, as well as ONE Self Evaluation that corresponds to the DVD session you are sending for review (this counts as one of the four total peer/self evaluations).

Step 2: Once your DVD review passes, you will be asked to send in the remaining paperwork – see notations below.

Note: Your video must demonstrate the points contained in the Group Leader Process Checklist. If it does not meet these requirements a second video must be submitted. USB memory stick or DVD only (NTSC or PAL format). No mini DV or other small formats accepted. Contact us for information on sharing video files electronically.

There is a certification application fee of $800 which includes detailed video review and supervisory report (up to two video reviews), registration process, and certificate of certification. Additional video review, if needed, is billed at the rate of $230 per hour.  The certification application fee must be received for the video to be reviewed.  If the supervisory report has been approved by a certified mentor (rather than an Incredible Years trainer) then the cost of certification is $185.

Send Application Materials and Certification Fee to:

Incredible Years, Inc.
Certification Committee
1411 8th Avenue West
Seattle, WA 98119 USA

Delivering groups in another language?  Our trainers are now scheduling to deliver video reviews for certification live over Zoom!  Group leaders can provide live translation of their videos with our trainers over Zoom.  Trainers will schedule for up to an hour of extra time to complete the video review plus translation time, billed at the rate of $230 per hour.

Attend Approved Training Workshop

Only group leaders who have successfully become Certified Group Leader in the Basic parent program are eligible to apply for Advance Certification. We do not need another background questionnaire for Advance certification, unless your situation has changed quite a bit from when you submitted it for your Basic certification.

Only those candidates who have successfully completed the approved Advance training qualify to submit a certification application. Approved training consists of a 2-day workshop offered by a certified mentor or trainer of group leaders.

Experience Requirements

Conduct a minimum of 2 groups, utilizing the complete parent and child Advance video series (each group lasting a minimum of 9 weeks). The optimal number per group is 12 – 14 parents. It is required that more than 50% of those starting the program complete all sessions (minimum 6 parents finishing the groups). A list of dates, locations, and number of attendees must be submitted.

Submit to the Certification Committee Workshop Session Checklists for 2 complete groups. (See Leader’s Manual and/or Resources Section.)

Submit to the Certification Committee weekly evaluations by each parent who attends each of the 9 sessions for both groups.

Submit to the Certification Committee final program evaluations (Final Satisfaction Questionnaire) by each parent who attended the two groups.

Peer- and Self-Evaluations

Submit 2 Peer and 2 Self-evaluations from each of two different group sessions (four forms total will be submitted).

Feedback from Certified Mentor or Trainer

Telephone consultation from Certified/Accredited Mentor or Trainer. Group leaders may request telephone consultation, which is provided by a Mentor or Trainer. Consultation calls are contracted through the Incredible Years office.

In-Person Consultation workshops led by Certified/Accredited Mentor or Trainer. These workshops consist of 6-8 pairs of group leaders who present videos of their parent group sessions for peer review and feedback from Incredible Years Mentor or Trainer. Agencies may request these consultation workshops at their site or send group leaders to regularly held workshops in Seattle.

Video review of complete parent group session by Incredible Years Certified/Accredited Mentor or Trainer. Receive a satisfactory supervisory report for one complete group session. This supervision may be done by a certified mentor or by submitting a video to the certification committee. Most people usually submit two tapes (at different times and with different groups) before they obtain approval. Two complete video reviews are included in the certification fee. For each additional video review (beyond the first two) a fee is required due to the time intensive process of the review and preparation of the written report.

Your video must meet minimal requirements for following the session protocols. If it does not meet these requirements a second video will be requested.

The video submission should be labeled, identifying the program  and submitted with the group leader’s self-evaluation checklist and must meet minimal requirements for following session protocols.

Please see the Tips for Preparing your DVD for review below.

Maintaining Fidelity after Accreditation/Certification

In order to assure that accredited group leaders continue to deliver the program with fidelity, we highly recommend the following:
-Accredited group leaders should lead at least one group every 18 months
-Accredited group leaders should participate in a fidelity check every 18 months: this could be a coaching session with an accredited Peer Coach, a video review of a group by a Mentor or Trainer from the Incredible Years office, an in-person consultation day, or Skype consultation calls with a certified Mentor.

Even expert group leaders benefit from on-going feedback and discussions about their work. Without fidelity checks, it is easy for group leaders to drift from the original model.  Fidelity checks are also a chance for group leaders to hear about new materials or innovations to the programs.