GENERAL INFORMATION
We appreciate your interest in the procedures for becoming a Certified Trainer, and we hope that what follows will provide clarity and about the Certification Process.
In the Certification Process, CNVC is represented by the Educational Services Team (referred to below as “we”). This team is an international working group composed of Assessors, the Assessors Coordinating Circle (ACC) and staff members who work remotely from around the world.
From the beginning, the goal of Marshall Rosenberg (founder of NVC) in developing Nonviolent Communication was to transform the world to a more peaceful and satisfying place. He had this vision from the beginning when he began to develop Nonviolent Communication in the 1960s. Marshall wanted to foster social change in the world: if we just use Nonviolent Communication as a tool to support healing or to support more fulfilling relationships without considering the larger goal, we are enabling existing domination systems to continue and thrive.
Therefore, Marshall founded CNVC in 1984, to create an organization that was committed to a vision of a critical mass of people using Nonviolent Communication to create a peaceful, just, and sustainable world. A strong community of qualified trainers plays an important role in the realization of this goal.
As you consider your decision to start on the path toward certification, we would like you to appreciate that the Assessors have the clear intention to carry out their roles in a spirit of mutual respect and shared power. We share the challenge with you to engage in an assessment process within a new paradigm of partnership and "power with" rather than domination and "power over." We all have choice to interpret the certification process as coming from a domination perspective or to see it as an opportunity for partnership.
Candidates who become aware of this choice and are able to integrate its meaning have found transformative learning for themselves in the process. Assessors are constantly learning how to better contribute to a mutual process that values everyone’s needs.
We want to emphasize that the Center for Nonviolent Communication has a unique perspective in offering certification that may be different from the assumptions some Certification Candidates may have. For CNVC, certification is a validation and celebration of a new colleague joining our community. In essence, it is an annual renewal of your commitment to the organization. It is not a permanent credential like a diploma, but a renewal of your commitment to the organization. We ask you to renew that commitment annually. This is a lifelong journey for all of us -- Assessors, Certified Trainers, and Certification Candidates alike. Becoming a Certified Trainer is not an ending — it is a continuation of our learning and growing.
CNVC has two long-term goals for the Certification Process:
- Create a community of trainers who want to work with CNVC to fulfill our vision
- Ensure that the next generation and succeeding generations are taught Nonviolent Communication in a way that preserves and protects the integrity of the Nonviolent Communication process.
Certification Candidates have expressed the goals including connection to CNVC; contribution to our vision; credibility; mutual support; and personal growth.
We recognize that applying for certification is a serious commitment. If you would like further information regarding the certification process after thoroughly reading all of the material, please contact the Certification Coordinator or an Assessor of your choosing who will respond to your questions and you will mutually decide if you would like to walk this path together.
To create a lasting and effective CNVC community, we are searching for people who are:
- KNOWING Nonviolent Communication: A deep understanding of the Nonviolent Communication concepts and process.
- LIVING Nonviolent Communication: A strong grounding in Nonviolent Communication consciousness, which guides their everyday life.
- SHARING Nonviolent Communication: Skills to teach Nonviolent Communication considering different learning styles. and those who are willing to continue their personal growth in all these areas.
We would like Certification Candidates to have a willingness to explore their personal relationship to the following areas: the spiritual nature of Nonviolent Communication, a specific vision of social change and membership in an Nonviolent Communication community.
To that end, we request that Certification Candidates have at least two to three years of teaching Nonviolent Communication as a non-Certified Trainer, leading practice groups, significant training with a diverse group of Certified Trainers for guidance over the course of your training, along with training logs and personal journals to chart progress and learnings. This will demonstrate your deepening in all three areas over a period of time - usually three to five years.
Since Marshall Rosenberg personally certified the first trainers in the 1980’s, the number of Certified Trainers has constantly grown worldwide. As of 2024, there are more than 900 Certified Trainers working around the globe in over 65 countries, in many different languages and cultures. The certification process has evolved slightly differently in various Nonviolent Communication communities around the world.
There is flexibility in Assessor-groups, in registration and assessment fees, in the Certification Candidate’s choice of Assessors, in the choice of language and in how the certification process unfolds. Whatever the flexibility of the process may be, at the time of final assessment there is absolute consistency of outcome, of demonstrated competency, of actually living Nonviolent Communication every day, and the sharing of Nonviolent Communication with integrity to the next generation and beyond.
Whether or not you decide to pursue CNVC certification, we hope that your enthusiasm for spreading and sharing Nonviolent Communication will continue. “Guidelines for Sharing Nonviolent Communication for Individuals who are not Certified Trainers" is offered for your information. We request that you follow these guidelines, or contact the Certification Coordinator for further discussion.
The path to certification consists of six steps. Anyone wishing to pursue the path to certification is requested to start with the “Pre-registration step” and complete each of the six steps in the order listed below.
- Pre-registration
- Registration
- Preparation for Assessment (average of 3-5 years)
- Pre-assessment
- Assessment
- Certification
The certification preparation information that follows is to be used as a guide. Each Certification Candidate and Assessor will have their own unique relationships and the information that follows may not take into account flexible arrangements of Certification Candidates and Assessors working in groups. The information can still be used as a guide for a range of assessment procedures, leading to a consistent outcome of highly skilled Certified Trainers who can demonstrate that they know Nonviolent Communication, teach Nonviolent Communication with competence, and are "living" Nonviolent Communication.
This packet contains materials designed to support Certification Candidates in deepening their Nonviolent Communication consciousness, skills, and understanding. These materials are also designed to help Certification Candidates determine their own progress and readiness for a pre-assessment session. The document also includes information about assessment fees to be paid directly to the Assessor and about the final certification fee to CNVC.
The entire path of certification and the CPP was designed with the intention that Certification Candidates and Assessors cooperate in a way that is experienced and lived as "power with” for both the Certification Candidate and Assessor/s. We are aware that people have different perceptions and experiences in relation to "power over,” "power with” and “power under". When reading the CPP, if you sense or perceive a "power over" dynamic hidden in the words, please share your specific observation with your Assessor and get in touch with the ACC. In the next revision of the CPP, the ACC will consider your concerns and make changes when there is agreement.
We expect these materials to be revised periodically, as we hear from Certification Candidates and Assessors as to what is working well and what is not. The current document is not a promise we are locked into. Program designs change over time -- it is a sign of growth and ongoing development that adapts to the needs of the organization and all of its members. Please stay in contact with your Assessor, as you will be accountable for the procedures in effect at the time of your Assessments.
