Is Addiction Coaching Your Bridge?
I begin with a giant shout out to the systems that got me sober…I went to treatment 21 years ago and was discharged with the strict instructions to go to AA. Many years of hard work in recovery and with the help of some awesome “friends of Bill” and professional therapists I am miraculously sober, with no desire to drink today. I am deeply Grateful for all of it! My program of recovery Is working.
Having said that, the Addiction field is in the middle of a massive metamorphosis. During the “Covid” tsunami many of us watched in amazement as the mental health service system was turned upside down and inside out; therapists practicing online, treatment centers offering virtual treatment, AA and She-Recovers meetings and coaching calls online all day long. Family members from all over the world are able to hop on a family call together, to work on family issues. Addiction coaches have started springing up all over the internet, and while there are deep growing pains, it is incredibly exciting. Many professional counselors, therapists, and non-professional folks alike are swarming to addiction coaching because it fills a need. The existing professional service system had some serious holes concerning its ability to meet changing client needs, service delivery flexibility and even professional fulfillment.
Here are a few of the most glaring holes…Some real barriers are inability to leave home because of family responsibilities, jobs, and very real financial limitations. Others live in rural communities and there isn’t an AA meeting or an outpatient treatment program for miles. Many find the cost of traditional treatment or therapy untenable, and the local AA program not a fit. WHERE DO THESE PEOPLE GO FOR HELP? They want to get sober, yet they have no idea how to get from that desire to the reality of sobriety.
Many folks need a bridge. A bridge to lifelong sobriety, a guide to help navigate all the choices and options on the path. A coach can serve as that bridge. You may need only a few sessions or develop a longer-term relationship that serves your ongoing goals and needs. This is not therapy or a replacement for treatment but a supplement to it. And for the people out there who have spent hours (like I did) thinking about going to AA, reading books about alcoholism, and found themselves unable to get out of their car at their first AA meeting…the coach might be someone who can metaphorically open the car door and walk you in…to introduce you to the people in the rooms…the ones who may become your lifeline.
What exactly is a coach as opposed to a counselor or therapist? Coaches operate with the ability to share and use their personal recovery experience blended with their professional expertise to assist a client in the process of change with openness and honesty. They can act as a bridge to whatever a client may need. A coach is not a destination but an avenue…At their best, these are short term, solution focused relationships that empower clients to walk forward without them. Examples of coaching work include…Helping a client determine what it is exactly that they want: sobriety or moderation, helping a client find and secure the treatment they desire; when a person leaves treatment, walking them toward and into long term recovery (that may involve AA, Smart Recovery, She Recovers Community spaces, wellness programs, or a host of other community platforms blossoming online), finding a therapist, a new job, living situation…any number of tasks that are presented by the client.
The coaching relationship is more casual, real, and interpersonal than a clinical one. Clients have access to their coach on the phone, often daily, for checking in on goals and tasks. It is not a 50-minute hour model. A coach is accessible to their clients within the defined limits of the coaching contract. Having the opportunity to enter the home of clients virtually, and even meeting family members blur professional/client boundaries once unheard of. This blurring in my opinion speeds up the healing process.
A coach’s role can range from a supportive guide to a teacher or a task master. She can be someone to help you flesh out what path you want to take to recovery. There is not one way, one “best treatment”, “one” answer. A coach is someone to help you discover your dreams and desires and show you a pathway toward them. Practical, time limited, not clinical. I personally see the work as a perfect blend of my social work background, my personal recovery work, and my passion as an addiction counselor. Giving resources, trying out new avenues, supporting change, bridging people to the community that will sustain them long term. A good coach does not foster dependency on them but works hard at becoming unimportant to their client. I look at coaching as an intense short term helping relationship. It’s up to the process of coaching to determine the destination.
It may feel overwhelming as you look at all the options available to you for help. The only advice I can give you, both from personal and professional experience, is to follow your instincts. You will know quickly if the fit with a certain coach is right. All good coaches offer a complimentary initial session to flesh that out. Consider…Do you feel seen, heard, acknowledged, and challenged? Do you find value in the suggestions or tools being offered? Do you find, most importantly, that over time, you are seeing incremental change in yourself? The key is to interview your coach prospects, use references and be willing to move on if the fit isn’t right.
The addiction recovery tool belt just got a new tool…. you might give it a try!
