What is an addiction recovery coach?

Foremost, I am on your side, on the good days and the bad, in despair and in hope.

I am your partner in recovery. I’m not there to direct you, I’m there to work with you to determine your objectives and your criteria for success.

I am there to support you, not judge. I’m there to encourage you, not dismiss. Together we’ll find the lighthouse in the fog.

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How does coaching help?

A recovery coach will facilitate and encourage your recovery and progression through changes that you identify as important. These changes often include thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Stages of recovery tend to mirror stages of change, and can include:

  • Searching

  • Contemplation

  • Preparation

  • Action

  • Maintenance

A recovery coach is not a therapist, social worker, psychologist or other medical professional, neither is a coach meant to be your best-friend or sponsor. While many lines and boundaries between those roles and the coach may be 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 hear from specialists in the matter.

What might happen during a coaching session?

  • Conversation is the primary means of generating the self-awareness, motivation and learning that creates progress. The coach is responsible for guiding the conversation in positive and helpful directions

  • 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 generating substantial change in habits or routines

    • Recovery aids may include hobbies or activities

  • If you agree, possibly homework, a specific objective, or a focus for in-between sessions

  • Discussion of various recovery pathways, allowing you to evaluate for yourself what to try or investigate

  • Positive encouragement, positive reinforcement, and positive outlook. I am on your side, and you deserve to feel good about your efforts

Ethics and Conduct

Our sessions are held in strict confidence. I am entirely independent and report to no one or organization. I am bound by, and adhere to, my obligations to you for honesty, respect, and commitment. If we choose to work together, further information will be discussed regarding ethical and conduct expectations.