Getting Started With Recovery Coaching To Quit Drinking Alcohol
by Michael Walsh
If you’re anything like the majority of my clients, you have little to no experience with recovery coaching, or any type of professional coaching for that matter. And the newness of it all can make you feel kinda nervous. [updated March 2023]
For many people this keeps them from ever giving it a shot, and that makes me sad because I know how powerful this work can be.
So today I’m going to give you a behind-the-scenes look at what happens after you decide to move forward with recovery coaching, because once you know what to expect, the whole thing feels a lot less overwhelming.
Getting Matched With a Recovery Coach
First thing’s first - you’re gonna want to know who the heck you’ll be working with.
Opening up to someone about your drug or alcohol concerns is a big step, and you’re going to want someone you can trust with the details of your story and your life.
There are a few of us within my practice, and we’ve all come into this line of work with stories of our own drug and alcohol battles. We’ve been through some tough times, but we’ve survived to tell our stories, and now we’re helping others do the same.
Opening up about the reality of your situation can feel vulnerable, but knowing that we’ve been there too helps. Each of us has been well-trained, with years of experience, which means you can relax knowing you’re in good hands.
If you’re not placed with me personally, you’ll be placed with one of my trusted recovery coaches, who you can read about here.
After completing a straightforward intake process where we learn about your personal history and current life situation, you’ll be ready to dive into your first session!
Your First Recovery Coaching Session
Recovery Coaching is very goal oriented, and centred around your individual journey with substance use.
So we’ll start by asking you a question, such as:
- “What do you hope to leave our session with today”
- “How would you know by the end of our session that it’s been productive?”
- “What would you like to work through today?”
You might say something like:
“I know I need to make changes, but I just can’t seem to commit to never drinking again. That feels impossible, and awful.”
From there, I might respond with,
“Let’s get curious about that... how might we look at it differently?”
And we’re off!
Recovery coaches are trained to listen closely and ask powerful questions. Over the course of a single session, or a series of sessions, these questions help draw out your own inner knowing and build your awareness. While you may not have a huge breakthrough in every single session, your mindset, perceptions, and motivation will evolve over time.
Sometimes you’ll have a new topic to dive into, and other times you’ll want to take the topic from our previous session and go further with it. It’s really anything that’s on your mind that feels helpful to unpack in a safe place.
Examples of topics include:
- It’s been hard to be around my partner because he’s still drinking
- I’ve been worrying about a work trip that’s coming up next month because I know it’s going to involve a lot of alcohol
- I really wanted moderation to work, but I”ve been trying to make it work for a year now and things aren’t really improving
- My kids seem really upset with me even after I’ve stopped drinking, and I don’t know what to say or do to make the situation better
By simply showing up and being honest during your session, you’re giving yourself the chance to discover something new, or see something in a new light. For many of my clients, this is the only space they have to unpack these topics, and it feels like a weight has been lifted from them each time they leave a session.
Moving Forward Together
Our recovery coaching package includes a block of six hours, and we work backwards from there. In the first 1-2 months, I recommend 30-60 minute sessions each week to build rapport and trust, and to lay a solid foundation.
After 1-2 months we often shift to meeting less frequently depending on what feels most supportive to you. Many clients stay 3-6 months or 6-12 months, and some even find value in meeting regularly well into their first year.
We often say, “The easy part is reducing consumption or stopping, and the hard part is creating a new sober life you love.”
Improving your relationship to drugs and alcohol is often just the start of so much more. A recovery coach is perfectly positioned to help you navigate this next phase of life, while simultaneously supporting your sobriety or moderation goals.
Finding something (anything!) that awakens your inner drive is a crucial piece to achieving lasting sobriety. As I talk about in one of my previous posts, identifying “Your Bigger Yes” is about finding something worth fighting for.
It’s about ADDING something to your life, as opposed to simply removing the drugs or alcohol. And if you stick with recovery coaching, this is where you’ll get to really dive into the meaty stuff.
Creating an Empowering Recovery Plan
It can be overwhelming trying to decide what’s best for you and how all the pieces fit together into an actionable support plan.
Having someone with personal and professional experience as your guide makes the whole dang process a lot less overwhelming. As a recovery coach, I help build an empowering recovery plan that supports you in building a substance-free life you love or whatever your goals might be around drinking alcohol and gaining some sober tools along the way.
If you’re ready to explore the potential of working together, I’d love to chat. Michael is based in Victoria British Columbia Canada. The other Recovery Coaches on the team are based in Nanaimo, Vancouver British Columbia Calgary, Edmonton Alberta, Toronto Ontario, Montreal Quebec, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Because we all work virtually — we can work with anyone no matter what city, province or country around the world. We have clients all across Canada and the USA, Seattle, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, New York City, Denver, Nashville, Berlin, Tel Aviv, London, Singapore and Australia.
Phone or Text: 250.896.8494
Email: Coach@MichaelWalsh.com
Chat: Start a WhatsApp chat
About the Author
Michael Walsh
When I say I’ve been there, I mean it. I am a different person now, and I am fired up about helping other people get to the place where they, too, are living better, healthier, and bigger lives.
