What to Know About Recovery Coaches

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The life of an addict can be a very lonely one. When you make the brave choice to recover, the last thing you need is to feel isolated. In fact, trying to recover alone can be detrimental to your sobriety. This is why a recovery coach can be an integral part of a recovery journey. Studies show that those who work with a recovery coach experience fewer relapse rates and better satisfaction with the recovery process. Here’s everything you need to know about recovery coaches and how they can help you get sober and stay that way. 

What Is a Recovery Coach? 

To succinctly provide a basic recovery coach definition can be a bit challenging. To put it simply, your recovery coach is the person who guides you through your sobriety journey, oftentimes for the purpose of keeping you on track after you’ve left an inpatient rehabilitation facility. While a therapist or a counselor provides you with clinical treatment, a recovery coach provides you with more practical assistance, acting as a person you can go to when you’re struggling with life’s daily demands.

A recovery coach wears a lot of hats for the client they’re coaching. On some days, they might act as a mentor or an advocate, helping a person in recovery to get their life back on track and keep it that way. On other days, they play the role we often associate with sponsors, acting as an emotional support system for their client. There will be days in your recovery journey when all you really need is a listening ear. A recovery coach can provide the empathy and support that you need on days like this. 

In terms of how a recovery coach can help you to get your life back on track as you navigate recovery, a coach can often help to connect you with housing and employment opportunities. Recovery coaches are quite familiar with community resources, which can be a huge asset if you feel like you’re starting over from the ground floor. Your recovery coach might also help you to stay on top of your counselor appointments and ensure you attend the meetings that are integral to your sobriety. 

Beyond a Sponsor 

There are certainly some similarities between a recovery coach and a sponsor. However, sponsors typically do not pursue education and licensing to become sponsors but are rather sponsoring others as part of their own recovery journey. While a sponsor can be a great person to talk to if you need emotional support, they do not have the additional training and expertise that a coach does. This isn’t to say you need to choose one or another; indeed, many clients in recovery will boost their odds of success by having both a coach and a sponsor. 

A recovery coach will typically have at least a high school diploma, in addition to a certificate of completion at a specialized training program. Many recovery coaches have been through the recovery process themselves although, unlike what is the norm when it comes to sponsors, this is not a requirement. Either way, you can rest assured that your rehabilitation facility will set you up with a coach who is competent, qualified, and experienced. As the role of a recovery coach is to help you stay on track with your recovery, your coach will work closely with your medical and therapeutic team to guarantee that everyone is on the same page. 

Responsibilities of a Recovery Coach

While you are ultimately the person who is the most responsible for your recovery, a coach helps to keep you on track and give you the tools that you need to thrive. In many ways, it’s no different than the role a coach plays for athletes. While the real work might be done by the athletes themselves, the coach is the one who trains them, provides support, and guides them toward victory. 

Your recovery coach will help you in many ways as you work toward long-term sobriety. Some recovery coach responsibilities include: 

  • Providing you with practical tools to navigate daily life
  • Offering emotional support when you’re struggling
  • Helping you to devise strategies that will best serve your recovery
  • Guiding you through triggers and cravings
  • Offering guidance for securing housing and job assistance
  • Empowering you to feel in control of your recovery

When you work with a recovery coach, you’ll focus a lot on setting goals. Sometimes these goals will seem small, such as simply getting through the day without a relapse. Other times, these goals will be larger, motivating you to do the work to be successful not only in your recovery but in your life overall. 

The job of a coach isn’t all hard work or doom and gloom. Your recovery coach will also be there with you to celebrate sobriety milestones and personal achievements, just as a coach does when the athlete they trained takes home the gold. While there will be some days that feel difficult, there will also be great days where you want to celebrate. Your coach will be there for both of those types of days, guiding you through the heavy times and cheering on the victories. 

Benefits of Working with a Recovery Coach 

There are many specific benefits of recovery coaching. The following covers some of the ways that coaches help their clients to thrive. 

Increased Accountability 

It can be difficult to stay on top of any task if you don’t feel like you’re accountable to anyone. While this is true of any task in life, it’s especially true in recovery. When you’re trying to stay sober alone, the only person you’re accountable to is yourself. Unfortunately, as history has shown, you might not always be the best person to hold yourself to your highest standard. 

A coach is someone who holds you accountable. While you ultimately get sober for yourself, it’s helpful to have someone holding you accountable to the small tasks and milestones that are a cornerstone to ongoing sobriety. Your coach will be someone who holds you accountable for checking in, achieving goals, and staying the course that will ensure your success. 

Motivation 

Motivation isn’t something that you obtain once and then have forever. Instead, think of motivation like the gas tank in your car. You can fill it, but every time you drive, you’re depleting the tank. This is why it’s important to consistently refill the tank, to ensure that you never find yourself on empty. 

While we’re sometimes able to find motivation from our family, friends, or ourselves, we often need outside aid to keep our motivation tank full. Your coach will be there to cheer you on as you navigate recovery. On both the hard days and the good days, your recovery coach will motivate you to keep going. 

Empowerment 

A common feeling among those struggling with addiction is a lack of empowerment. When you’re not sober, you often feel like you’re not in control of your own life. Even if deep down you yearn to be the author of your own story, substances have a way of knocking the pen out of your hand. 

After you get sober, the feeling of empowerment doesn’t suddenly come back in full force. In fact, many on their recovery journey who are trying to reestablish themselves in the working world or trying to secure housing find that these challenges can create feelings of disempowerment. Your coach will help you to learn how to feel empowered in your own life again, reminding you that your self-worth and ability to feel in control of your own life doesn’t disappear just because you had a bad day or faced an obstacle. 

Peer Recovery Coach Support 

While some coaches don’t have a history of addiction themselves, many are individuals who’ve gotten sober and now dedicate their lives to helping others find and stay on the same path. Many people find that peer recovery coach support is immensely helpful, as their coach can truly empathize with what they’re experiencing. 

This camaraderie and understanding can be a massive asset to a recovering addict. While a psychologist or a counselor might know the science of addiction and the best practices to treat it, they don’t always have the personal lived experience of addiction themselves. On days when you call your coach because you’re struggling, you can feel a sense of safety in the fact that you’re speaking to someone who’s struggled the same way. 

A peer recovery coach may have also gone through the same experience of trying to rebuild their lives after rehab. This means that they’re all too familiar with what to do and what not to do when it comes to finding housing, a job, and a support network. Peer recovery coach support offers you not only the support of someone who will be incredibly understanding but also someone who’s developed the practical skills needed to successfully navigate recovery. One study found that those who worked with a peer recovery coach experienced a 44% decrease in subsequent hospitalizations. 

Sobriety Coaching Services 

Sobriety coaching services are available to clients through several different formats, depending on their specific needs, concerns, and preferences. Coaches are available to provide both in-person and online support. 

One-on-one Coaching 

This is what many people think of when they think about working with a recovery coach. This is a person who you’ll see frequently and who will be focused on you and only you during your meetings and visits. While all coaching experiences are valuable, this is one of the best forms of addiction recovery mentorship. 

Group Coaching 

A group coach is a person who will meet with you and other clients on a recovery journey, working with you all in a small group setting. While this style of coaching lacks the personalized aspect of one-on-one coaching, many clients actually prefer it. When working alongside others on their own newfound sobriety journeys, you feel a strong sense of camaraderie. This is a good option for someone who doesn’t like to feel isolated and thrives in a team-oriented environment. 

Virtual Coaching 

You don’t necessarily have to be in the same room as your coach to experience the benefits of recovery coaching. Many clients opt for virtual coaches, which allows them to stay in touch with their coach wherever they go. 

Specialized Coaching 

Addiction is often experienced alongside a whole host of life’s other challenges. A specialized coach is one who focuses on a specific type of client, such as veterans, the disabled, young people, and the incarcerated. Those experiencing unique challenges on top of their addiction benefit from working with a specialized coach, as it ensures that their addiction struggles are treated holistically as part of the larger framework encompassed by their other concerns and circumstances. 

Finding a Recovery Coach 

Those who wish to work with a recovery coach may be connected with the right coach through their rehabilitation facility or their healthcare professional. Be wary of some coaches online, as they may lack the proper credentials and experience to serve your needs adequately. There’s a possibility that you might feel that the first coach your healthcare team sets you up with is the right one for you and your needs. Sometimes, you might need to request a different coach, but that’s quite fine and normal. It’s important that you find a recovery coach who is suitable for you in order to maintain your sobriety successfully. 

Get the Help You Need for Lasting Recovery 

The road to recovery can be a challenging one, but that doesn’t mean that you have to walk it alone. By working with a recovery coach, you can help prevent your chance of relapse and do the work to rebuild your life after addiction. Within this supportive framework, it’s also beneficial to consider the resources and programs available through specialized facilities. At Granite Recovery Centers, for example, we offer a comprehensive range of addiction treatment services tailored to meet individual needs at various recovery stages. Our approach to treatment is designed to encompass all aspects of addiction recovery, providing a solid foundation for the work you do with your recovery coach. 

Incorporating the expertise of a treatment provider alongside the personalized guidance of a recovery coach can enhance your journey toward lasting recovery. This dual approach ensures that while you navigate the complexities of rebuilding your life, you have access to a broad spectrum of support. Recovery is not something that anyone is meant to do completely alone. Instead, work with a treatment provider and coach who will give you the understanding, empathy, and ongoing support that you need to stay sober. 

Keri George

Director of Nursing

With over 10 years of dedicated experience in nursing, Keri George is a passionate and visionary Director of Nursing specializing in substance use disorders. 

After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in allied health science from University of Connecticut in 2008, Keri pursued further education and became a Registered Nurse in 2012. She is currently enrolled in a master’s degree program focused on business administration.

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