Divorce Coaches Academy (DCA®) is a professional training and certification organization founded in 2021 by Tracy Callahan and Debra Doak — practicing ADR professionals who saw a gap in how divorce coaches were being prepared to do real-world work. What makes DCA different is its grounding in alternative dispute resolution principles, the same framework used by mediators and collaborative attorneys, rather than generic life coaching models.
DCA trains coaches to work upstream of mediation and litigation, helping individuals develop the conflict management and communication skills that lead to more peaceful, less costly outcomes for families. The curriculum is behavior-based, scope-of-practice aware, and taught by coaches who are actively doing this work — not just theorists.
With nearly 500 certified coaches across the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Arabian Gulf, and France, DCA has become a recognized voice in professionalizing divorce coaching globally. They've presented at the ABA Dispute Resolution Conference and are actively working to raise standards in an otherwise unregulated field.