Addiction Recovery Coaching
An addiction recovery coach is an individual trained and experienced in helping you reach your recovery goals. While a therapist-client relationship may be formal and structured, a coach-client relationship is more informal and flexible. A recovery coach can offer guidance, personal experience and input on your recovery, but always in collaboration. The recovery coach will support your goals, your recovery objectives, and your chosen recovery pathway.
A recovery coach is not a therapist, social worker, or psychologist, neither is a coach meant to be your best-friend or sponsor. While distinctions between those roles and the coach may appear vague, it is the coach’s responsibility to openly and transparently discuss them when they arise. It is important to remember that the coach will always default to what’s best for you, and sometimes that is limiting their own role so you may seek guidance from other health-care specialists.
For example, if your addiction is currently aggravated by significant mental health concerns or unresolved trauma, a recovery coach may not be appropriate at this time.
How does Recovery Coaching help?
A recovery coach will facilitate and encourage your recovery and progression through changes that you identify as important. Specifically, recovery coaching is:
- Flexible in dates, times and duration
- Responsive to life’s sudden changes and stresses
- Open to all topics related to recovery
- Individualized and personalized
- Open to any and all helpful recovery pathways and groups
-Designed to focus on effort and progress rather than outcomes
- A lower-cost option to therapy or counselling
What to expect during a coaching session?
The majority of coaching sessions are virtual (online) or phone. Coaching is not possible over email or text.
Conversation is the primary way of generating the self-awareness, motivation and action that creates progress. The coach is responsible for guiding the conversation and effort in positive and helpful directions. If you agree, homework or specific objectives may be set for the periods in-between sessions.
A client can expect discussion regarding strategies, tools, planning or other recovery aids:
- Strategies could involve coping or emotional regulation
- Tools may include creating a list of priority values or stress-reduction activities
- Planning may involve scheduling, or improving habits or routines
- Recovery aids may include videos, books, hobbies or activities
A coach is on your side. You can always expect positive encouragement, positive reinforcement, and
positive outlook.
How long will coaching last?
Addiction recovery coaching is available for as long as you feel the need and see the benefits. It may be a short-term partnership to surmount specific obstacles to recovery. It may be longer-term if you are in the early stages of recovery and seek progress. It may also be periodic, with infrequent check-ins, motivational conversations and occasional focused effort. It is what you need it to be.
Ethical Considerations:
Ethical, privacy and confidentiality responsibilities will be discussed, and treated the same as with any therapeutic relationship. A client’s clear, specific consent will be sought before a coach will even acknowledge to others that you are a client. MHASO’s ethical guidelines will explain this in greater detail.
