Brain-Smart, Practice-Wise, a book-companion series
(Lees hier voor de Nederlandse versie van deze pagina)
Brain-Smart, Practice-Wise is a ten-session live webinar series, companion to the handbook Supervision for Coaches: A Quality Assurance for Coaching — co-authored by Louis van Kessel and Sonja Vlaar. It starts in September, and you can sign up at the end of this page. It’s a series for supervisors, coaches and educators who want more than a quick read—who want to sit with the book, chapter by chapter, in good company.
Here is a one-minute video introduction to the series from Sonja Vlaar.
Note: This series is not coaching, supervision, or training. It is a structured professional reading-and-reflection program. To take part in Brain-Smart, Practice-Wise you’ll need to order a copy of the book yourself.
You can order the e-book / hard cover at SWP Publishing.com
About the book
Supervision for Coaches— a quality assurance for Coaching has had a long arc of development. It began as a joint article published by Springer Nature (2024), grew into the Dutch-language book Supervisie voor Coaches — een kwaliteitswaarborg voor coaching (2025), and has become our English research-based professional handbook in July 2026.
The book lays out the conceptual foundations of coach supervision: its history, its inherent dilemmas, ethical challenges, professional standards, competency frameworks, training requirements, models of practice, tools, and the role of professional associations. It’s academically grounded and thoroughly researched, written with one purpose in mind— to support high-quality professional practice of coaching. The English edition isn’t just a translation; it’s an expanded and improved version of the original. You can browse the full table of contents of the 2026 English edition here.
More about the webinar series
Think of it as a structured companion to your reading— a way to work with the book rather than juts get through it.
Each live 60-minute online zoom-session is built around one chapter. And together we form a small reading-and-reflecting group of supervisors, coaches in supervision, coach educators, and professional association members.
The rhythm is simple: read the chapter, and complete the Readers’ Activity at the end of it in advance, then bring your thinking into the live session, where we deepen it together.
Who is this series for?
The series is designed for professionals and educators engaged in coaching and supervision:
- Registered and trainee supervisors
- Coaches in professional supervision
- Coach educators and training program leaders
- Board members and CPD officers of professional associations (LVSC (ANSE), NOBCO (EMCC), ICF, GSN and others)
Webinar topics
Each session is anchored in one chapter. The reflection – questions at the end of each chapter are your preparation before we meet.— take a look at the full table of contents of the book-chapters here to see how the chapters unfold.
Once you’ve registered and paid, you’ll receive the Brain-Smart, Practice-Wise newsletter throughout the series, between sessions. It’s a short one: a look back at the key ideas from the last session, a few practical reflections, and a way into the next chapter—supporting a rhythm of prepare, reflect, discuss, apply, repeat. All at your own pace.
Language: Each cohort runs in a single language, Dutch or English (schedule below).
Platform: Online via Zoom · Groups of up to 12 participants
🎟 Join us for 10 sessions at € 100,- (no additional VAT), plus the cost of the textbook (hardcover € 54,99; e-book € 34,99), which you purchase on your own. This price of € 100,- applies to the first two cohorts only. Once your payment is received, your seat will be confirmed.
PE points: Brain-Smart, Practice-Wise has been approved by LVSC for accreditation. Eligible participants may receive between 2.0 to 2.5 PE-LVSC points (minimum attendance: 8 out of 10 sessions). Accreditation by NOBCO is awaiting for approval.A certificate of participation is issued by Attune upon completion of the series.
Dates & times:
Cohort 1, Dutch language — September 2026 to June 2027 : Every third Thursday September 2026 to June 2027 · 19:00–20:00 CET: 17 September, 15 October, 19 November, 17 December, 21 January, 18 February, 18 March, 15 April, 20 May, 17 June 2027. (This series is also listed in the LVSC activities-calendar).
Cohort 2, English language — September 2026 to June 2027 . Every third Tuesday September 2026 to June 2027. 19:00–20:00 CET: 15 September,13 October, 17 November, 15 December, 19 January, 16 February, 16 March, 13 April, 18 May, 15 June 2027.
When a cohort reaches capacity (max 12 participants), a new one can be launched and a fresh schedule announced on this page. However the price will go up.
About the book
Supervision for Coaches— a quality assurance for Coaching has had a long arc of development. It began as a joint article published by Springer Nature (2024), grew into the Dutch-language book Supervisie voor Coaches — een kwaliteitswaarborg voor coaching (2025), and has become our English research-based professional handbook in July 2026.
The book lays out the conceptual foundations of coach supervision: its history, its inherent dilemmas, ethical challenges, professional standards, competency frameworks, training requirements, models of practice, tools, and the role of professional associations. It’s academically grounded and thoroughly researched, written with one purpose in mind— to support high-quality professional practice of coaching. The English edition isn’t just a translation; it’s an expanded and improved version of the original. You can browse the full table of contents of the 2026 English edition here.
Facilitation
Sonja Vlaar is the host/facilitator of the series. She brings her expertise as a coach supervisor and as a multi-certified coach, with a background in nutrition research and applied neuroscience and —last but not least— the experience of having co-written the book. The book is where the ideas are laid out — the webinar series is where they come alive.
Registration and payment:
