Maybe you have heard a little bit about an emerging field of therapy called Recovering Coaching, but what is a Recovery Coach exactly? Life and Recovery Coaching is a fairly new type of therapy in the world which can be compared with more traditional methods. Many people have misconceptions or misunderstandings about coaching, confusing it with counseling. While there are similarities between these two fields of therapy, there are also many differences.
If you have found yourself wondering, what is a Recovery Coach and how is it different from a counselor? You are not alone. In this article we will outline some of the similarities and differences between Recovery Coaching and Counseling so that whether you are a potential client or a professional looking for a new career path you can understand which route is best for you.
What is a Recovery Coach?
To put it simply, a Recovery Coach helps clients who are seeking to improve their lives by assuming that every person has a positive attitude that can be brought out. A Recovery Coach believes that the first step to recovery for anyone who desires to overcome an obstacle or improve their life in general is to define their own innate values and strengths in order to be successful.
Recovery Coaching, as a philosophy, means to recognize that people who are going through recovery of any kind, but especially for addictions, probably lack some essential life skills or must require new skills to move on in life. Coaching focuses on the present and future, as well as motivation techniques.
What is a Counselor?
Counselors base the focus of their therapy around the more traditional roles of psychiatry, psychology, and social work. They attain a solid foundation in existing technique and theory as well as content and process.
Counselors focus on teaching individuals about their issues or illnesses, and suggest different methods in which they can cope with life and their problems. They work in a clinical setting with a specific agenda and specific methods.
Recovery Coaching and Counseling Methods Can Work Together
Now that the question of, what is a Recovery Coach has been answered, it is simple to see some of the major differences between Recovery Coaching and Counseling. Although the two approaches differ in many ways, they both aim to improve the lives of people who are trying to overcome illnesses or disease, especially those who are overcoming addictions.
Most people who seek help with overcoming issues in life see a counselor weekly. When they meet with a counselor, they discuss their problems and the counselor gives them advice and assignments based upon psychological methodologies. This type of treatment generally focuses on understanding and accepting the past.
When people combine Recovery Coaching with Counseling, great strides can be made as far as putting the past into perspective with the present and the future. A Recovery Coach helps uncover many issues that exist in the here and now which may not necessarily be addressed during Counseling.
