I didn't title this post "Recovery Coaching vs Therapy" for the simple reason that there's no competition here. Both services are effective and both are very much needed, especially in the addiction recovery community.
I have personally benefitted from having a psychotherapist while in recovery, so based on my experience, I recommend that if people have issues (who doesn't?) from the past that remain unresolved, that you deal with them through a good therapist.
And if you have insurance, it's a no brainer! Use the services that are being offered to you.
I didn't happen to have insurance but I decided to invest the money into a therapist anyway, and it was a smart investment that has paid me back many times over.
Working through the past trauma, getting help improving relationships and changing self-destructive behaviors is key to a happy life, and is a must for any successful addiction recovery plan.
It's tough to move forward until we tie up some loose ends from the past and figure out why we do some of the things we do.
When you're ready to move forward, it's time for some coaching.
A good recovery coach is someone who is going to meet their client right where they're at and walk with them on their journey going forward.
Coaches help their clients identify and clarify goals, using their current situation as the starting point.
As a recovery coach, I will have a discussion with a new client about their current situation and we'll talk about what they love about life, what they don't love about life, the obstacles they are facing and what they've tried in the past to overcome them.
The first bit of homework is almost always having the client write out a clear vision of how they would love to see their life unfold in the next year or three years.
We always need to identify the desired outcome before we can implement strategies to get there.
After we know where they want to go, it's now up to us to make an action based plan going forward to get them there.
I love seeing people get excited about their future once it's written out.
So many of us haven't taken the time to clarify what we really want.
If we don't take this step, we don't know where we are going. We are pretty much wasting our actions today, and are leaving our future in the hands of other people and randomness.
That's a nasty thought but it's true if we aren't working toward a vision every day.
Identifying EXACTLY where you want to go means that you take back control of your life and that gives you a real sense of power and confidence knowing that you are in charge of your life going forward.
When we have a clear plan and take action, we create HOPE! Hope is the secret ingredient.