Frequently Asked Questions
Some people are very curious and want to know more. They need to ask lots of questions and explore. This page is for you. While there are many ways these questions can be answered, I am using the industry standards to eliminate confusion.
What is professional coaching?
The International Coach Federation (ICF) defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. Coaching honors the client as the expert in his/her life and work and believes that every client is creative, resourceful, and whole. Standing on this foundation, the coach's responsibility is to:
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Discover, clarify, and align with what the client wants to achieve;
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Encourage client self-discovery;
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Elicit client-generated solutions and strategies; and
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Hold the client responsible and accountable.
Coaches are trained to listen, to observe and to customize their approach to individual client needs. They seek to elicit solutions and strategies from the client; they believe the client is naturally creative and resourceful. The coach's job is to provide support to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity that the client already has.
Taken from the International Coach Federation (ICF) website
What is Recovery Life Coaching?
Recovery Life Coaching is an ongoing professional relationship that helps folks who are in or who are considering recovery from addiction to produce extraordinary results in their lives, careers, businesses, or organizations—while advancing their recovery from addiction.
Recovery Life Coaches affirm that there is innate health and wellness in each of our clients. We hold our clients creative and resourceful. We do not promote or endorse any single or particular way of achieving or maintaining sobriety, abstinence, or serenity or of reducing suffering from addiction. Our focus is on coaching our clients to create and sustain great and meaningful lives.
Through the process of Recovery LIfe Coaching, clients deepen their learning, improve their performance, and enhance their quality of life. In each meeting, the client chooses the focus of conversation, while the coach listens and contributes observations and questions. This interaction creates clarity and moves the client toward action. Recovery Life Coaching accelerates the client’s progress in recovery by providing greater focus and awareness of choices, actions, and responsibility. Coaching concentrates on where clients are now and what they are willing to do to enjoy a better tomorrow.
The Recovery Life Coaching process recognizes that results are a matter of the client’s intentions, choices, and actions taken toward building a strong foundation and creating a life worth staying healthy for, supported by the coach’s efforts and application of the coaching process.
*Adapted from ICF Definition of Coaching
Taken from the Recovery Coaches International (RCI) website
What is the difference between Recovery Life Coaching and therapy?
Coaching is intended for those who want to reach a higher level of performance, satisfaction or learning. People who feel they’ve lost time to addiction are especially eager to do well and enjoy life. They make committed and enthusiastic coaching clients.
Therapy is for those who are seeking relief from emotional or psychological pain. Coaching ethics and guidelines require that if a client is primarily seeking relief from emotional or psychological pain they must to be referred to a therapist. Coaching is often used concurrently with therapy but should not be considered a substitute for therapy.
Coaching focuses on the present and future while therapy focuses primarily on the past. In therapy the concern is how unresolved issues are impacting the present. In coaching the question is what can be done today to move the client forward toward their goals and the realization of their vision.
Taken from the Recovery Coaches International (RCI) website
What is the difference between a Recovery Life Coach and a sponsor?
Sponsors come from 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous, and Debtor’s Anonymous.
Sponsors are not paid professionals; they benefit personally from the service they give you by staying clean and sober or abstinent themselves.
A sponsor’s job is to help their sponsee stay clean, abstinent, or sober by working through the 12 steps and using the program and fellowship effectively to stop the addictive behavior. Sponsors have a singleness of purpose—they stick with the steps and traditions. Often the focus is on cleaning up the past.
A coach isn’t limited to using the steps and traditions and coaches don’t focus on the past. Recovery Life Coaching is not affiliated with any 12-step program and does not promote a particular path or way to recover. However, many recovery coaches are members of 12-step programs and have both a sponsor and a coach! A coach’s job is to challenge and support their client as they make lifestyle changes and begin to have a better quality of life.
Taken from the Recovery Coaches International (RCI) website
How many coaching sessions will I need?
For Recovery Life Coaching a typical coaching cycle is 12 sessions, normally spread over 12 weeks.This time frame ensures that the client creates lasting change in their life. The actual length of the coaching relationship will depend on what the client is looking to achieve. I ask my first time Recovery Life Coaching clients to commit to a 12session/12 week cycle. From there it all depends on what you what you want in your life and what you want to change.
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