Mentalskolen: Educating world-class coaches

By Maria Sødal Vole

Educating neuro coaches and mental trainers, Mentalskolen is one of Norway’s best coaching programs. The certified school offers progressive education of a high standard, with a focus on utilising scientific insights and putting theory into practice.

With 20 years of coaching experience, Jeanette Sleveland founded Mentalskolen five years ago, driven by a conviction that something was missing in coaching education. Recognising that aspects of teaching and practice were rooted in outdated myths, inaccurate information, or decades-old research, Sleveland set out to establish a school that would offer a more accurate and modern education for aspiring coaches.

Today, Mentalskolen offers a comprehensive coaching program that combines extensive practical training with in-depth guidance on establishing and sustaining a successful coaching business. “My goal was to build such a great school that the coaches we educate would become the best coaches in Norway, if not the world, working deeply at the core of what makes human beings get in the way of our own progress,” Sleveland explains.

Mentalskolen: Educating world-class coaches

Changing Minds podcast. Photo: Mentalskolen

“A lot of people seek out coaching to develop their skills in a specific area – to become a better manager, for example – but they often find that what they learn and put into practice leads to positive ripple effects in other areas of their lives,” she says. “Coaching can result in significant discoveries, making it possible for people to transform their relationship with themselves and others.”

According to Sleveland, certain qualities make it more likely for a person to be successful in coaching. She explains that people who have a fixed mindset believe everyone is born with certain skills and limitations, and not much can be done to change it. Those with a fixed mindset may be struggling with unbalanced self-esteem and may feel that receiving constructive feedback means they’re failing.

In contrast, people who have a growth-orientated mindset are more willing to learn and open to feedback, which is key for developing coaching skills, and they’re more curious and solution-orientated. “In the initial stages of working with our students, we examine and challenge mindsets, meaning some will experience a huge change in their thinking process right off the bat,” Sleveland says.

Mariann coaching.

Dynamic, science-driven coaching education

As a certified educational institution, Mentalskolen’s courses are built on a solid foundation of science-backed research and industry-leading techniques, and it is a world leader when it comes to certifying coaches within the fascinating field of neuro-semantics. Delivering a range of online and in-person courses on topics related to psychology, neuroscience, communication, agile coaching for businesses, and more, the school welcomes 80-100 students per semester.

“Our focus is on delivering the best quality of education to our students. Despite high demand, we don’t want to increase the number of students we work with,” Sleveland says. “In addition to teaching, our work involves observation of each student and providing guidance, feedback, and individual mentoring. Taking on more students would stretch our capacity, and we don’t want to sacrifice quality for quantity.”

Within the vast, diverse fields of psychology, biology, and medicine, there are constant developments that hold great significance to our ever-evolving understanding of the brain and human behaviour. Currently, studying for a psychology degree which will culminate in a doctorate in coaching psychology, Sleveland is driven by an innate desire to learn, to understand, and to communicate the most up-to-date information to students.

Mentalskolen’s tight-knit team consists of seven dedicated course leaders as well as contributors and examiners. The instructors are committed to staying up-to-date on recent research, fresh approaches, and new techniques within the field, taking courses every year to stay abreast of new developments.

“We’re never finished educating ourselves – we’re always learning and giving each other feedback. Our knowledge and methodology are in continual development,” Sleveland says. “Each person on our team has their own individual strengths, and we’re all pulling together for the common goal of helping our students become the best coaches they can be. Since we all have our own businesses, there’s a close connection between theory and what works best in practice.”

On Mentalskolen’s popular podcast, Changing Minds, a wide variety of issues related to coaching and mental training are explored. “The topics we discuss are based on what we teach, what our students ask us, and what people are interested in learning more about,” Sleveland says. “We draw on our experiences from coaching – the typical problems people meet in life. We share our insights and experiences, bringing up relevant research within the field of psychology and neuroscience that may be useful to our listeners.”

Mentalskolen is one of a handful of educational institutions currently working towards the new certification scheme Norsk Standard for Coaching. With strict requirements, this recently developed industry standard outlines the competency, education, and experience coaches operating in Norway should have. “The certification scheme is unique to Norway, and we’re excited to prove that we meet the necessary high standard to achieve it,” Sleveland says.