Could you use a Recovery Coach ?
Could you benefit from seeing a Drug or Alcohol Counselor?
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE??
RECOVERY COACHES
A recovery coach helps you create recovery goals and a plan, and provides mentoring, referrals, and social service navigation support to in your early recovery from addiction or alcoholism. They help you get basic needs met and overcome obstacles to living a productive life. A recovery coach also provides accountability and can meet with you on a regular basis, usually 1-3 times a week and by phone.
Relapse Prevention
Relapse can often be part of recovery and working with a coach can help you identify relapse triggers. By recognizing triggers, you are better able to prevent relapse. If it does happen, working with a coach may help make the relapse shorter.
Harm Reduction
Not everyone who needs help uses an abstinence-based recovery plan. Harm reduction is also an acceptable goal that coaches also use by helping you make decisions about your recovery and health in line with your goals. As your experience with recovery changes, you can make adjustments to your recovery plan.
Accountability
A recovery coach will check in with to give your an opportunity for accountability. Instead of wondering whether or not your call is wanted, your recovery coach encourages you to reach out at regularly scheduled times to check on progress toward your goals. Honesty is the most important thing. If you share whats going and work together making adjustments, you’ll have an important ally on your recovery journey.
Experience
Most recovery coaches are in recovery themselves. Many have been sober for at least a year. Most have probably faced many of the problems you’re facing and have dealt with problems with jobs, family, and relationships in their own lives, and have done so while remaining in recovery. They also have experience with feelings that surface in recovery. They can provide insight into how to address issues we all face and how to prioritize recovery while meeting goals.
Tools and Skills
The work you will do with a coach is to develop tools and skills to build and sustain recovery. If you have a hard time creating and keeping a schedule, or don’t have self-confidence, or tell yourself how unworthy you are, this will slow you down from reaching goals. You and your coach will identify obstacles holding you back from maintaining recovery or from living life to your full potential. Each issue is addressed with skill building and accountability to meet your goals.
What a Coach Isn’t
Coaches are not therapists. They’re a mentor to help with practical life skills, getting basic needs met, developing a recovery plan, and reaching life goals. For mental health issues like depression, anxiety, or trauma, you may want to get a therapist or mental health counselor who can provide supportive care for mental health. The coach helps you implement the homework a therapist might give and provide positive support for the work you do with a therapist.
DRUG & ALCOHOL COUNSELOR
A substance abuse counselor is a support system for people with drug and alcohol problems, eating disorders and other behavioral issues. They show you how to modify behavior to work toward long-term recovery. Because recovery can include relapses, a counselor may work with you long-term.
Support
Meeting with an addiction counselor is often the starting point. They may connect you to drug or alcohol groups like Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous and then follow up with you to ensure you’re attending meetings regularly, building networks with other sober people, and getting the support you need. A counselor may ask you about family relationships or what place of worship you attend to ensure you have a healthy support network.
Counseling
In-person or remote counseling is when the real transition from addiction happens. There are many options and each works to help you develop the tools to live life without substances and avoid situations that may trigger a relapse. Sessions mostly take place in Reality Check offices in one-on-one sessions, but can also be done in group or family sessions, just ask your counselor. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) trains you to observe negative or harmful thoughts and how to phase out those thoughts gradually. The goal is to change behaviors by changing how you think and the process involves understanding what triggers relapse into addiction. Counselors may combine CBT with other therapies too. A licensed psychologist or psychiatrist conducts other therapy sessions, and they’re not done by an alcohol and drug counselor. These are very effective when combined. Your counselor may explore reasons for not wanting to go to treatment by focusing on the benefits of completing addiction counseling.
Treatment
Counseling is just one form of treatment. If you have a severe case of addiction it may require a stay at rehab centers or medications where you’ll be monitored by a healthcare professional. One of the first medical interventions is detoxification. There are many ways to remove addictive substances from the body and those treatments must be handled carefully. When you stop using certain drugs “cold turkey” it can be life-threatening. Detox aims to reduce the symptoms of withdrawal and is conducted under the supervision of trained specialists. Medications can aid in addressing addiction, but counselors do prescribe medications.
Counselors will …
Meet with you to evaluate your health and substance problem usually weekly, bi-weekly or monthly
Identify issues and create goals and treatment plans
Teach you coping mechanisms
Provide updates and progress reports to courts or other authorized providers
Refer you to support groups or other social service help
Set up aftercare plans post-treatment
Meet with family members and provide guidance and support