What Does a Recovery Coach Do?

When you’re recovering from a substance use disorder, you know that if you end up picking up a drink or a drug, consequences can be devastating. For this reason, staying sober is the most important thing in your life, and you have to continually remind yourself to make sobriety a priority. This means staying connected to people who are supportive of your decision to stay away from compulsive or self-destructive behaviors and people who understand the nature of addiction.

You may want to consider hiring a recovery coach to help you remain continually focused on recovery. A recovery coach, also known as a sober coach, can help you navigate the ups and downs of living sober and assist you in making smart decisions on a daily basis.

Challenges of Early Sobriety

Treatment centers for addiction recovery provide a safe and supportive environment for detoxing from addictive substances, and for beginning the journey of building a support system for living a substance-free life. Once you leave the treatment center, you’re faced with a multitude of challenges that you didn’t have to face while you were in the safe setting of an inpatient treatment facility.

The early weeks and months of sobriety can be very challenging. When you return home, you may have to deal with family members who still drink or use other substances. You may be faced with sights and smells that trigger the urge to pick up a drink or substance, including friends or acquaintances who know you as a person who has relied on substances up to now. You’ll also have to face the stresses of day-to-day life, such as work issues, financial problems or conflicts with loved ones.

The Role of a Recovery Coach

Facing these and other challenges can put your sobriety at risk. A recovery coach can help you to handle people, places and things that may put you on a path to possible relapse.

Some of the services that a recovery coach provides include:

• Connecting with you on a daily basis to check on your struggles or progress
• Helping you to find 12-step meetings that are nearby
• Providing connections to mental health professionals such as therapists or psychiatrists
• Providing information on family support
• Discussing alternatives to 12-step programs if you feel that would be beneficial
• Helping you to connect to online support

In addition to helping you find community services and support groups, your recovery coach can help you look into lifestyle changes that can make you feel healthier, both physically and mentally. This may include athletic activities, fitness classes or classes in yoga or meditation.

Sponsors Versus Recovery Coaches

When you recover from substance use disorder with the help of 12-step programs, you’ll be encouraged to get a sponsor, which is someone who can offer support to you and has demonstrated knowledge of and commitment to living sober. While a recovery coach provides much of the same support that an AA or NA sponsor does, the role of a recovery coach goes deeper than that of a sponsor.

Since a recovery coach is someone you hire, they work for you. They’re available to you whenever help is needed around the clock, and they make you accountable to them for the goals that you set. They make suggestions for support and healing outside the halls of 12-step programs, helping you strive to become healthier, both physically and mentally. They can also help you to work on life goals that go beyond the 12-step program, such as career goals.

A recovery coach can help you identify your strengths and work toward successful change of life situations that may be holding you back. While their role is similar to that of a life coach, the main focus of a recovery coach is to help you to stay sober and to prevent relapse.

If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction to drugs or alcohol, please call us at (310) 455-5258 or submit the form below to learn more about our Los Angeles rehab.