Rehab can be rough, but what happens when you leave? Your return to everyday life can be filled with familiar triggers and stressors that might be overwhelming. The first ninety days out of treatment have proven to be the most challenging for recovering addicts. So why not hire some extra help to keep you on track?
Recovery coaches provide support for those trying to overcome destructive behaviors. They help clients navigate the tricky path of early sobriety and provide a bridge between the safe world of treatment to the real world. Similar to a “life coach,” a recovery coach helps clients make smart decisions to better their life and avoid engaging in addiction. Recovery coaches provide accountability and support on a daily basis to help clients establish healthy habits to reinforce a recovered lifestyle. They’ll also help you reconnect with your local community, find resources to bolster sobriety, encourage ways to get active, and build a strong support system.
Just like a personal trainer, a recovery coach will help you develop an individual program of recovery that is uniquely suited to you. Your coach will help you figure out what steps you need to take to achieve the future you want, incorporating the tools you’ve learned in treatment into your daily life. They help with non-clinical issues like housing, finances, employment, hobbies, and relationships. Recovery coaches teach you how to create healthy boundaries, how to improve communications, and how to take care of your own needs.. Your recovery coach is there to offer encouragement, guidance, and support as you navigate sobriety. Think of your coach as your own personal cheerleader! They’ll help you carve out your own niche in the recovery world and encourage you to find fulfilling activities and relationships that are healing. They won’t do the work for you, but they’re there to make sure you do the work for yourself. A recovery coach can be your biggest advocate and greatest asset in early recovery. They’ll do more than just help you stay sober – they’ll help you learn to thrive!
A recovery coach is an adjunct to traditional treatment, not instead of. Remember, recovery coaches are not therapists – they don’t provide clinical help. It’s important to keep seeing a therapist to address the underlying issues of your addiction while working with a coach on practical ways to avoid relapse. Unlike a therapist, your coach is available to you 24/7. If you feel like you might use at 2 o’clock in the morning, your coach will be there to help you cope. A recovery coach is also not an AA sponsor. Sponsors are volunteers in recovery who support you through the 12 step program. Their work with you is mutually beneficial, as helping you out helps reinforces the lessons they’ve learned on their own recovery journey. A recovery coach is a trained professional
who works for you. Their first and only priority is helping you adjust to your new life.
How can you find a recovery coach? Ask your treatment center. Chances are, they can recommend a good coach with whom they have previous experience. There are also numerous online resources for finding a coach, including professional services that specialize in coaching. Compatibility is of the utmost importance when selecting a recovery coach. Look for someone who “gets” you. Your recovery coach is going to be intimately involved in your life and it’s important to pick someone you click with.
Recovery coaches aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. They’ll work with you on a daily basis to address problems as they arise and help you to make strong choices moving forward. They’ll help you change addictive behaviors, develop strategies to continue abstinence, and make practical changes to your life. Your coach will help you develop crucial life skills like managing finances, coping with stress, improving communication with friends and family, and holding down a job. They’ll help you uncover what your passions in life are and help you find ways to pursue meaningful goals. A recovery coach may be the best insurance you can have in avoiding relapse and creating long-lasting abstinence.
