5 Benefits of Having a Recovery Coach in Sobriety

Completing a drug and alcohol treatment program is a major accomplishment. You’ve addressed the causes of your addiction, learned about practical coping techniques, and become aware of the changes you need to make to stay sober. However, treatment alone is rarely enough to keep you sober. Ongoing care and support are the keys to long-term recovery.

One form of underutilized support offered by recovery programs in New Jersey is recovery coaching. Recovery coaching involves meeting with a recovery coach on a regular basis to discuss your progress, obtain support, re-enforce accountability, and help you reach your goals in recovery. A recovery coach is not a therapist or a sponsor–he or she is a mentor or advocate for your sobriety.

Here are the top 5 benefits of having a recovery coach.

1. Your Recovery Coach Can Introduce You to Recovery Related Resources in Your Area

Whether you’ve traveled out of state for rehab or you went to a treatment center near you, the world of addiction recovery may be brand new, and you may not know where to turn after support. Once you’ve completed rehab, you’ll need to find a 12-Step fellowship (or another recovery fellowship alternative), locate nearby meetings, and find additional resources you may need to stay sober.

One role of a recovery coach is to introduce you to recovery-related resources in your area. Your recovery coach can help you find 12-Step meetings, match you with a therapist, and even point you toward job fairs, sober living homes, and so much more. Rather than being turned to the wolves after leaving rehab, a recovery coach can help guide you toward the resources you need to be successful.

2. Having a Recovery Coach Will Hold You Accountable to Your Recovery

Addiction is a disease that is as much mental and spiritual as it is physical. This means you may struggle with triggers, cravings, or even intrusive thoughts from time to time. Left to your own decision-making, you may not always make decisions that are in your best interest. After all, it takes time to heal, change the way you think, and get used to living a sober lifestyle.

One of the many benefits of a recovery coach is that he or she can hold you accountable in your recovery. You will check in with your recovery coach on a regular basis, talk about your day, make plans for the future, and discuss any challenges you may have. As long as you are honest with your recovery coach, he or she can make sure you stay on the right track in sobriety. And, if you make a mistake, your recovery coach can help you get back on your feet.

3. Recovery Coaches Know Every Relapse Prevention Strategy in the Book

Before you leave rehab, you’ll come up with a detailed relapse prevention plan with your therapist. However, as time goes on, your needs may change. Strategies that used to be effective at helping you cope with triggers and cravings may stop working. It’s important to be able to constantly evaluate your sobriety and learn new skills you can use to prevent relapse.

Recovery coaches are trained in relapse prevention, and many of them are in recovery themselves. They also have vast experience working with all types of people in recovery, so they are familiar with every coping mechanism there is. If you need to tweak your relapse prevention plan or find coping strategies that benefit you, a recovery coach can help.

4. A Recovery Coach Can Help Ease The Transition Out of Rehab

Making the transition from residential treatment or PHP back to real-life can be intimidating. You have to get used to staying sober on your own while having independence and facing real-world situations. There are many things that can help ease the transition out of rehab, such as outpatient programming, aftercare programs, and alumni services, but another one of the benefits of a recovery coach is that they can help you make this transition, as well.

Your recovery coach will help you stay on track, monitor your process, and advocate for your best interests in early sobriety.

5. Your Recovery Coach Can Help With Harm Reduction if You Relapse

In the unfortunate event that you do relapse or begin using drugs and alcohol again, your recovery coach can help you implement harm reduction strategies that allow you to use substances safely. They can also help your friends and family with staging an intervention if you refuse to go back to rehab. Additionally, your recovery coach can direct you to follow-up treatment programs that can help address your relapse and put you back on the road to recovery.

Find Out if You Can Benefit From a Recovery Coach Today

Although relapse is a part of the recovery journey for many people, it does not have to be part of your story. If you utilize all of the available support options for your sobriety, you’ll be more likely to prevent relapse and walk away from challenging times with a sober mind.

Here at New Jersey Addiction Interventions, our dedicated addiction specialists can help connect you with experienced recovery coaches in your area. For more information about our program or our services, please give us a call today.