How I Know I Am Ready to Coach

How do you know when you are ready to coach? This is a question I have been reflecting on for a while now.

From the standpoint of a recognized profession, there is no minimum standard required to call yourself a recovery coach. It is a relatively new role in the Canadian market, and it is a profession that is not government-regulated. No provincial licence is required, and private health insurance companies do not recognize recovery coaching as a covered benefit.

So, what gives me the confidence to call myself a recovery coach? Where is the bar set as an industry standard? What should a person achieve to earn the title of Certified or Accredited Recovery Coach?

There are courses that must be completed before submitting a recorded coaching session to be assessed by a peer panel. You must achieve a minimum passing grade measured against a predetermined coaching rubric. The video should demonstrate an understanding of the coaching skills used during a session, with the intent of not telling the client what to do, but coming alongside them with compassion, understanding, and encouragement.

It means treating the client as resourceful and believing they have the answers to their recovery within themselves. Through motivational interviewing and thoughtful questioning, the coach helps draw out the client’s internal strengths and abilities so they can develop their own recovery plan. The goal is to empower the client to take ownership of their recovery and increase their chances of building a sustainable, fulfilling life.

But even with the training, I have continued to ask myself a more personal question: Why am I ready to call myself a trained recovery coach?

I can’t speak for anyone else, so the answer I have is personal and only applies to me. It is not an easy question to answer, and I don’t take the responsibility lightly.

Helping guide someone as they develop their own recovery plan takes understanding, care, and patience. It also requires me to manage my own stuff and resist the temptation to lead or tell a client what their plan should include. My role is to walk alongside them, not to take control of their journey.

The Value of Lived Experience

The greatest thing I can offer a client is my lived experience.

As a person in recovery, I have gone through many of the same things they may be experiencing today. I understand the desire for sustained sobriety, the need for clarity of mind, and the commitment it takes to develop and follow through on a recovery plan.

I understand that finding the willingness to do the hard work is not always easy. It might mean revisiting a group or activity that didn’t feel right in the past. It might mean finding a trusted accountability partner outside of coaching sessions. It might even mean acknowledging that treatment needs to be part of the recovery plan.

Whatever the circumstances, it requires humility and an open mind to consider doing something you weren’t willing to do before. Sometimes, we need to be willing to do things differently if we want a different outcome.

I call that doing whatever it takes to stay sober.

And if there are unfortunate bumps in the road, I can relate to setbacks and relapse without looking at them as failure. The time a person spent in recovery doesn’t get erased. The experience still matters. They have experienced what recovery can feel like, and that experience can help them get back on track, recognize what they want their life to look like, and learn how to avoid similar setbacks in the future.

I also want clients to understand that recovery is hard. It takes commitment, discipline, and sacrifice, but the rewards are great.

Stay centred and live in the moment. Don’t look back in regret or look forward with anxiety. The old cliché, one day at a time, is a motto worth striving for. All we have is today. Let yesterday go without carrying its regrets into the present, and don’t anxiously anticipate tomorrow’s troubles.

Live free now.

All the hardship I experienced through addiction allows me to coach with empathy, understanding, and hope. I remember how I didn’t want to be told how to recover, what was right, or what was wrong. Nobody wants to be told how to live, let alone how to recover.

There is not just one way to find the freedom that recovery can bring.

The Importance of Training

Lived experience is invaluable, but I have also done the training. Learning how to coach was enlightening because it taught me to look beyond my own experience and understand how to support someone else’s journey.

We don’t always find the perfect question to ask. We might offer a reflection and completely misread what the client was trying to express. We might miss an opportunity to explore something the client mentioned that could take them down a road to greater clarity, produce an important insight, or move them towards a positive action.

Coaching is a skill that requires practice, patience, and a willingness to learn.

Having the client set the agenda for each session establishes the intention and identifies what they want to achieve. Through open-ended questions, reflections, scaling, and summarizing, I help clients explore the issues they want to address, uncover their own answers, and identify strategies they can add to their recovery plan.

The goal is to help them build the life they want, on their own terms.

That includes setting SMART goals, committing to actionable steps, and reviewing both successes and areas where there is room for improvement. What felt right? What missed the mark? What did they learn? Does the plan need to change?

Together, we can reflect on their progress, readjust the plan when necessary, and keep pressing forward.

The client remains in control of the process. My job is to help them discover what works for them, recognize their strengths, and hold themselves accountable to the commitments they choose to make.

Knowing My Calling

I believe my calling is to help others find recovery. That passion and motivation keep me focused on the client and remind me that this process has nothing to do with me.

It is not about what I think the client should do, what worked for me, or what I believe their recovery should look like. It is about understanding what they want, helping them explore their options, and supporting them as they work towards their goals on their own terms.

Knowing what is on the other side of addiction is all the motivation I need to pursue a career in recovery coaching.

I also understand the limits of my role. Recovery coaching is not a replacement for treatment, therapy, or medical care. It is a complementary service that can help someone explore whether treatment is right for them, prepare for treatment, or strengthen their recovery as they transition out of a treatment program and navigate life afterwards.

For others, it might mean having someone in their corner during early recovery. Someone they can talk things through with as they learn to navigate life without relying on the substances that once played such a significant role in it.

Eventually, the goal is for them to develop the confidence, skills, and support network they need to continue their journey without a coach.

Getting Fired Is the Goal

So, what does success look like to me as a recovery coach?

Success might mean a client agrees to seek treatment when they weren’t previously willing to consider it. It might mean they develop a self-directed recovery plan, achieve the milestones they set for themselves, and build a life that supports their recovery.

It might mean they maintain their sobriety and reach a point where they tell me they don’t feel they need another coaching session.

That last one might sound strange. Getting fired is not usually the goal of a professional, but in my case, getting fired is exactly what I am working towards.

I want my clients to become confident in their ability to manage their own recovery. I want them to recognize their strengths, trust themselves, and know where to turn for support when they need it.

If I can help someone get to that point, then I have done my job.

And when that day comes, I can wish my client well, shake their hand, and smile with pride as they leave their last coaching session.

I will hope they never have to come back.

Not because I don’t want to see them again, but because I want them to leave knowing they have what it takes to keep moving forward without me.

That is what success as a recovery coach looks like to me.