Who Is Recovery Coaching For?
Get more out of life
Is Recovery Coaching Right for Me?
Wherever you find yourself in your relationship with drugs or alcohol, you will benefit with the support of a well-trained, experienced and compassionate Recovery Coach.
All you need is to want more out of your life.
Recovery coaching isn’t just about quitting a particular substance. It’s about creating a lifestyle that is free from dependency so that you can live a more authentic life.
A Recovery Coach is for anyone who is looking to change their relationship with substance use.
Does This Sound Familiar?
Individuals seeking support from a Recovery Coach often fall into one of these categories:
- “I’ve hit a wall.”
- “I’m getting worried about this.”
- “I want to cut back, take a break of try and moderate.”
- “I’m concerned about someone else.”
These categories are listed below, accompanied with the level of support you would generally receive from Recovery Coaching services.
“I’ve hit a wall.”
Alcohol or drugs have become so problematic that life around you is crumbling.
This may include:
- Denial
- Hiding the amount of consumption
- Relationship erosion and difficulties
- Body screaming for you to stop
- Problems at work
- Financial strains
- Moving money or stealing to support your consumption
If you’re there, it’s okay. Now you’re here. We’re going to get you out.
We’ll customize a change-plan to your concerns and needs. It is discreet and confidential. If you want to invite others to be a part of this process, we will create space with you to bring in those people. Some components of your plan may include:
- Weekly Recovery Coaching sessions
- Medical detox
- Inpatient residential or outpatient treatment placement
- Safe Passage transportation to inpatient treatment
- Post-treatment aftercare planning
- A Sober Companion
- Clinical counselling
- Psychological or Psychiatric assessment
- Developing a recovery network
- Managing the transition from inpatient residential treatment back to work and home
- Relapse-prevention strategies
- Text and/or telephone support in between sessions
“I’m getting worried about this.”
Whether it’s alcohol, hard drugs, or prescription medications, your use is becoming an obstacle and you’d like to do something about it.
- It may be limiting your ability to excel in your field of work
- Your colleagues may have been mentioning something about your alcohol use at work events
- You may notice you are not quite at the top of your game
- You’re willing to sit down, take a hard look at where you’re at, and set some goals for where you’d rather be
You might not be ready to completely stop – and that’s okay. Recovery Coaches work with you and the goals you choose.
Work with a Recovery Coach involves a lifestyle change rather than a clinical approach. Some clients do not need counselling but benefit from the one-on-one goal-oriented accountability framework Recovery Coaching offers.
A weekly 30-45 minute session will shift you off your current path and put you into a place of strength and positive choice. Text and telephone support in between sessions is also provided.
“I want to try cut back, take a break or possibly moderate.”
Moderation is a personal choice, and you may not be ready to stop immediately.
Ask yourself these three questions:
- How do you show up in the world as a consumer of alcohol or drugs?
- Are you happy with that person?
- Does that person affect others in a negative way?
Most participants of Recovery Coaching see that drinking or drug use impacts their lives, and often the lives of others, in a negative way, which leads to a genuine desire to stop altogether.
You must decide whether the benefits of drinking or drug use outweigh the benefits of not consuming those substances. More often than not, the benefits of sobriety outweigh the alternative.
It is a personal choice. Some clients are not ready to stop immediately, and that's ok.
1:1 Recovery Coaching will get you to identify trigger-points for your consumption of alcohol or drugs. You will complete daily logs for a month to track trends and identify the impact of your consumption.
Over a few months, by measuring various markers for growth, you will see what’s working and what's not.
“I’m concerned about someone else.”
You’re a family member, loved one, friend, colleague, business owner, or manager of someone who has a problem with alcohol or drugs.
You can’t change their behaviour, but with the right tools gain get a better understanding about why your loved one or staff member behaves the way they do.
Tools you will learn include:
- Positive communication
- Positive reinforcement
- Setting appropriate boundaries
- Problem-solving skills to better a relationship with a loved one
- How to navigate ideologically-tinged treatment systems
- Available treatment approaches, settings, and medications and support navigating barriers to access
- Effective self-care, shifting the focus from a caregiving role and moving forward with your own life
- Text and telephone support in between sessions is also provided
If necessary, an invitational intervention can be planned and conducted to get your loved one the help they need. If an intervention is not appropriate, engaging in Family Support using the CRAFT Model process is also an option.
Further reading
- My article How to Help a Loved One With Addiction has morre about helping someone you love who has a drinking or drug problem.
- I have a dedicated website directed at family members and loved ones who are experiencing alcohol or substance use: visit interventions.ca for more in-depth information on this topic.
- The informative and compassionate book Beyond Addiction by Jeffrey Foote et al. provides clinically proven insight and practical advice to help expand your knowledge and support skills.
Recovery Coaches Provide Accountability
As you work with your Sober Coach and your recovery journey unfolds, a partnership naturally fostering accountability unfolds from within its creases.
This accountability partnership is the space where you are held responsible and supported in your process-of-change.
Your Recovery Coach is:
- Available for support in between sessions
- Accessible via text or telephone
- One of the most effective tools in sustaining and maintaining long-term recovery
You’re about to recreate your life.
We often say the easy part is quitting drinking or using drugs. The hard part is learning how to recreate your life without alcohol or drugs.
It’s not always a simple process, and that’s why your Coach is there for you.
Sober Coaching FAQs
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Will my benefit plan cover the cost of Recovery Coaching?
- Recovery Coaching is not typically covered by extended healthcare plans.
- Some benefit providers have and do provide coverage for our clients. It depends on the Insurance Provider, the Benefits Advisor, and whether the advisor sees value in adding a Recovery Coach. I would be happy to discuss an approach that could work in getting your insurance provider to cover us.
- However, we are unable to directly bill insurers of any kind.
- Recovery Coaching in Canada is currently in the process of becoming more organized with credentialing, supervision, and an oversight body. We hope to see an increase in insurance plans that provide coverage for our profession as the process moves forward.
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I live in the United States, Europe, Australia or SE Asia — can I still work with you in Canada?
Absolutely, we are not bound by any restrictions at all to work with clients in any country or city in the world.
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Where and how frequently do we meet?
- A plan is customized for your situation, so the specifics of how often we meet vary depending on your needs.
- Currently all of our work is virtual.
- Online Recovery Coaching is just as effective as in-person work, enabling you to develop the necessary rapport and trust with your Sober Coach in order to create dynamic outcomes.
- Doing the work digitally means we can connect with anyone in any location. We currently work with clients in Canada, the USA, Europe and SE Asia. However, we recognize you may need in-person contact.
- Frequency of sessions depends on your needs:
- Some clients start with weekly 60-minute sessions for the first 4-6 weeks, and then taper frequency and duration to bi-weekly with 30-minute sessions.
- For those who need more contact and structure we engage 30-minute sessions twice-weekly for the first month.
- We are flexible to your needs, and will work to develop a plan that fits your schedule.
- Some clients use our services for 3 to 6 months, others 6 to 12 months, and some stay with us for two or more years.