How Do Recovery Coaches & Substance Abuse Counselors Differ?

At the Provincetown International Film Festival in June 2024, the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature was presented to director Lisa Olivieri for Recovery City, a poignant look at the lives of four Boston women struggling to escape their addictions. Recovery City is a raw longitudinal documentary filmed over four years in cinema verité style. It has earned many awards for its powerfully emotional stories, and it has drawn attention to the work of addiction recovery coaches like the expert team at Sober Lifestyle Coaching, the specialists in recovery coaching Carlsbad residents trust for the support they need to build new lives with purpose and connection.

A Brief History of Recovery Coaching

In Recovery City, policewoman Janis and social worker Rebecca are state-certified recovery coaches whose highly practical, hands-on approach is different from substance abuse counseling. Recovery coaching is a part of the peer-based recovery spectrum that began with Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935. However, it wasn’t academically defined until 2006, when renowned mental health researcher Walter L. White published a seminal paper titled Sponsor, Recovery Coach, Addiction Counselor. After the publication of the lifestyle book Sober Curious in 2019, personalized recovery coaching became associated with sober lifestyle coaching, which had already gained pop culture awareness through celebrity news headlines.

Recovery Support vs. Therapeutic Counseling

White’s definition of recovery and sober lifestyle coaching puts it above AA sponsors and next to substance abuse counselors. Whereas sponsors and counselors work within a single recovery framework, coaches must work across various frameworks that intersect in their clients’ lives. Respectively, sponsors and counselors work in organizational peer-recovery and therapeutic frameworks. The former is a social framework, and the latter is clinical. Sponsors adhere to the 12 steps, while counselors follow treatment guidelines. Coaches provide personal recovery support across behavioral, practical, social, and spiritual frameworks. In other words, they focus on specific real-life needs.

Working with Coaches and Counselors

Self-discovery is a common denominator of recovery, and it determines whether you would benefit more from coaching, counseling, or both. Some treatment plans recommend one or both. However, many people in recovery decide to retain the services of sober living coaches after getting counseling. Many recovery case managers and counselors mention or recommend coaching after learning more about their patients. When you attend counseling sessions, you’re completing clinical goals of recovery. With coaching, you get practical advice and support on how to reach those goals and implement them into your life.

What to Expect from Recovery and Sober Lifestyle Coaching

To some extent, the patient–provider relationship you have with counselors is similar to the client–coach dynamic. You get more egalitarian and experiential services from coaches thanks to their “walk alongside you” approach. Coaches are like professional AA sponsors with the knowledge of counselors and the practical acumen of social workers. They focus on the present and future of guiding you to sobriety. When recovery feels like an uphill battle because you’re also dealing with personal, professional, and spiritual issues, coaches provide practical support while holding you accountable for recovery goals. They can help you navigate the court system, access community resources, deal with the aftermath of personal crises, and implement the life skills you need to achieve sobriety. 

For strength-based support with addiction recovery or the help of a compassionate interventionist in Carlsbad, reach out to the trained recovery coaches at Sober Lifestyle Coaching. Our goal is to offer our clients maximum recovery support, especially in the first fragile days or weeks of early recovery. If you’re looking for extra addiction recovery support so you don’t risk relapse when you head into the danger zones, we’ll work with you to put together a game plan to keep you safe and sober as you accomplish your goals. To learn more about how we can help you or someone you love, call us today.