How to Become a Recovery Coach
Recovery coaching – or sometimes called sober coaching – is such a vital field that’s criminally overlooked when exploring options for possible recovery plans. It’s impossible to overstate just how life-changing a recovery coach can be, and it’s commendable if anyone were to pursue such a career path. However, if you were eager to have any possible questions answered and fears quelled, this can be the perfect page for you! Recovery coaching requires all sorts of know-how and includes plenty of wires that can possibly be crossed, so this is the perfect opportunity for those who may be vaguely familiar to clarify potential misconceptions and general duties.
How to Become a Recovery Coach
Becoming a recovery coach isn’t a matter of formal education or background, but instead relies on one’s ingenuity and determination. Yes, there’s success in having a degree in psychology, but often the only guaranteed key to success is in getting a certification or license. This isn’t to say that you can’t be a recovery coach without it – but if you want to make a career out of recovery coaching, certification is the way to go. The Addictions Academy offers the best certification course with a value that far exceeds the cost! Our comprehensive Professional Recovery Coach Certification and Training Program will teach you how to handle clients that are looking for help from drug addiction and alcohol addiction.
So – what does the course entail? As the global leader in addiction recovery coach training and certification and the only Recovery Coach Academy to offer two levels of recovery coach training, the Addictions Academy covers the ins and outs of all things Recovery Coaching. The Professional Recovery Coach Certification follows the International Coach Federation (ICF) 11 Core Competencies of Coaching (we are CCE Accredited) and in this class, you learn Motivational Interviewing skills, Life Coaching skills, Life Skills, Coping Skills, Defense Mechanisms, Active vs. Passive Listening, ethics, legal issues, and more. With the exclusive Recovery Coach Level II the Stages of Change, DSM 5 and mental health information, drugs, the criminal client, the wealthy client, and more are included.
There are no prerequisites, there’s an included ethics class, and 10 hours of coach membership, as well as access to a job board, networking, and business/private practice assistance. This is all to say this course is a huge step in being a successful recovery coach, all within 36 hours of individualized study or in a proper virtual classroom. Finally, and arguably the cherry on top, is the instructor being none other than Cali Estes, The Addictions Coach. With expertise in all-things addiction, appearances on FOX, MSNBC, and CNN, and a best-selling book, Cali is the best person to teach this class. She’s also the founder of The Addictions Coach and Sober on Demand and is vastly familiar with the procedure related to these courses.
Why You Should Be a Recovery Coach
With the road to becoming a recovery coach being as tangible as can be, one can naturally wonder about the incentives of entering the field. Well – as with all health-related services – there’s an aspect of helping your fellow person out. You’d have a very real effect on someone’s recovery, and for those with a background in addiction (whether through a family member, friend, or even themselves) this can be a big reason. As a recovery coach, you would be expected to figuratively take the hand of your clients and guide them through the rough journey that is recovery. With firmly established listening skills, goal-setting skills, and structure, as well as some knowledge in recovery techniques gathered from the course, you can be the guiding light in the fog!
A Recovery Coach sets the parameters of the conversation, listens to the client and contributes observations and questions, provides a roadmap for success, and assists the client as a team to achieve their desired goals. An action-based Recovery Coach accelerates the client’s progress by providing greater focus and awareness of choices, actions, and responsibility.
It also helps that recovery coaches often get to work a pretty dynamic schedule! If you’d prefer to work from home or just enjoy the remote-working atmosphere, that is very much possible as a recovery coach! They’re meant to be available as often as possible to those who may need it, especially if those people are seeking that care in lieu of rehab out of sheer lack of availability. This – of course, does mean you will need to work around your clients schedules, so it’s most often rewarding to those who can be versatile.
How much does a recovery coach make?
However, if making others happier isn’t your only incentive, that’s okay too! Heck, can’t deny that we need money to survive. So – let’s talk finances! How much does a recovery coach make a year?
Well, the answer fluctuates depending on where you live. If you live in Nebraska, the average salary there varies anywhere from $40,000 a year to $47,000 a year, while an area like San Francisco may be closer to all coaches hovering around the $40,000 yearly mark. ZipRecruiter adds onto this, saying
“We’ve identified 10 cities where the typical salary for a Recovery Coach job is above the national average. Topping the list is Atkinson, NE, with San Francisco, CA and Bolinas, CA close behind in the second and third positions. Bolinas, CA beats the national average by $6,243 (18.5%), and Atkinson, NE furthers that trend with another $8,125 (24.0%) above the $33,832 average.
With these 10 cities having average salaries higher than the national average, the opportunities for economic advancement by changing locations as a Recovery Coach appears to be exceedingly fruitful.”
In other words, Recovery Coaching is a comfortable field that’s actively blossoming! Getting into is a matter of taking a risk on yourself, and on your dedication to helping people. If this field interests you at all, it’s highly recommended that you get a certification to get started, and The Addictions Academy is the perfect place for that first step.
