Suicide among LGBTQ people

Recovery coaching is a form of strengths-based support for people with addictions or in recovery from alcohol, other drugs, codependency, or other addictive behaviors.[1] There are multiple models, with some programs using self-identified peers who draw from their own lived experience with substance use and recovery and some utilizing people who have no lived experience but some training in support, depending on local standards and availability.[2] They help clients find ways to stop addiction (abstinence) or reduce harm associated with addictive behaviors. These coaches can help a client find resources for harm reduction, detox, treatment, family support and education, local or online support groups; or help a client create a change plan to recover on their own.[3]

Recovery coaches do not offer primary treatment for addiction, do not diagnose, and are not associated with any particular method or means of recovery. They support any positive change, helping persons coming home from treatment to avoid relapse, build community support for recovery, or work on life goals not related to addiction such as relationships, work, or education. Recovery coaching is action-oriented with an emphasis on improving present life and reaching future goals.

Recovery coaching is unlike most therapy because coaches do not address the past, do not work to heal trauma, and put little emphasis on feelings. Recovery coaches are unlike licensed addiction counselors in that they are non-clinical and do not diagnose or treat addiction or any mental health issues.

Relationship to life coaching

Similar to life and business coaching, recovery coaching uses a partnership model wherein the client is considered to be the expert on his or her life, the one who decides what is worth doing, and the coach provides expertise in supporting successful change. Recovery coaching focuses on achieving goals important to the client, not just recovery-related goals.[4] The coach asks questions and offers reflections to help the client reach clarity and decide what steps to take. Recovery coaching emphasizes honoring values and making principle-based decisions, creating a clear plan of action, and using current strengths to reach future goals. The coach provides accountability to help the client stay on track.[5]

Other similar terms

The moniker "recovery coach" is used for a variety of specific addiction support roles. The main distinction is between the professional or highly compensated recovery coach and the volunteer or agency-employed peer recovery support specialist. Recovery support roles include the following:

Sober escort

A sober escort, or travel escort, is a paid sober travel companion or travel escort that accompanies a client to an event, to treatment, or to court, to ensure the client maintains sobriety. Transportation can be a significant challenge to a newly abstinent person. Whether the client is interested in maintaining an ongoing recovery or just needs to stay abstinent for a period of time, getting from point A to point B can be difficult. This version of a recovery coach may be required to transport a person in recovery across town, across the state, or across the county.[6]

Sober companion

A sober companion or sober coach works full-time with the client: full work days, nights, weekends or extended periods where the coach is by the client's side 24 hours a day. This long-term option can begin with treatment discharge and may develop into a coaching relationship that continues for several weeks, months or longer.

When returning home from treatment, the client trades a secure, drug-free environment for a situation where they know there are problems. The sober companion may provide the symbolic and functional safety of the treatment center. This coach will introduce the client to 12-step meetings, guide them past former triggers for their addiction, and support them in developing a recovery plan. The sober companion helps the client make lifestyle changes in order to experience a better quality of life in the first crucial days after discharge from a treatment center. Sometimes a recovery coach is necessary to keep a client sober in order to regain custody of a child.[6]

Recovery support specialist

A recovery support specialist (RSS) or a peer recovery support specialist (PRSS) is a non-clinical person who meets with clients in a recovery community organization or goes off-site to visit a client.[7] They may volunteer for these coaching services, or be employed by a recovery community organization for a low wage. The recovery support specialist ensures there is a contract for engagement, called a personal recovery plan. This is a key component of the recovery management model, which all RSSs follow. These specialists are sometimes also called "recovery coaches". William L. White, researcher and original author of the recovery management model, uses the term "recovery support specialist". This is referenced in the paper titled "Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC) Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Glossary of Terms", compiled by the Bureau of Substance Abuse and Addiction Services (BSAAS).[8] Another term for a peer recovery support specialist is "peer mentor".[9]

Family recovery coach

The family plays an important role for a person in recovery but is often neglected by traditional models of recovery. Specially trained family recovery coaches strive to create a calm, objective, non-judgmental environment for the family of a recovering addict. They are knowledgeable in specific models that help the family cope with the changes that they have gone through living with an active addict or living with a recovering addict. Regardless of an addict's choices, working with a family recovery coach may help a spouse, partner, or loved ones avoid the mental obsession that plagues many families affected by addiction and learn to lead sane and productive lives.[10]

Phone or virtual recovery coach

A phone or virtual recovery coaching relationship may be established to continue beyond the face-to-face meeting of a client and a recovery coach.[11] Today, many treatment centers are embracing virtual recovery coaching, and linking phone or virtual recovery coaches with clients prior to leaving treatment, as a way to continue the connection to the treatment center, as well as meeting the guidelines of an aftercare program. Online virtual coaching programs also exist, either fee-based or for free, that will help anyone apply the methods of recovery (e.g. developing a recovery plan and building recovery capital), whether the client has completed a stay at a treatment center or has relapsed many months after treatment.