Recovery Coaching within a Recovery Oriented System of Care

By Kelly Fitzgerald Junco, SHE RECOVERS® Coach

If you don’t look fast enough, you might miss it. The recovery community is moving at the speed of light – in what direction you ask? Towards change. Towards progress.

It’s an exciting time to be involved in this space, but of course, it’s not without its challenges in getting society to catch up with exactly what we’re doing and why.

Over the last two years, sobriety and recovery social media accounts have been popping up all over the internet including blogs and influencers alike. But not just that, the tools people are using to find recovery and get better are expanding. You’ve probably heard – traditional addiction treatment centers and 12 step fellowships aren’t the only way.

That brings us to Recovery Coaches – simply put a Recovery Coach is a guide who supports someone who is striving towards recovery. A Coach is someone who helps equip a person with tools, awareness, skills, and support on a journey of personal growth. So, as you can see this definition varies greatly from that of a 12 step sponsor, a peer support specialist, or mental health counselor.

In fact, this is often the first thing we’re asked as Recovery Coaches. How are you different from a sponsor or peer support? A Recovery Coach is unique in that we support people who are in the beginning, middle or advanced stages of their recovery. We focus on the future rather than the past, and aid in helping a person’s motivation to reach new goals and possibilities. Instead of sorting through past behaviors and traumas, Coaches normalize feelings and provide a strengths-based approach for a healthier and happier future. We don’t diagnose or provide counseling. We don’t guide people through the 12 steps or adhere to a certain pathway from a specific organization or group. Coaches are free to use whatever tools they find helpful as professionals and that empower their clients to “find and follow their own pathways and patchworks of recovery.” – SHE RECOVERS Intention & Guiding Principle

Recovery Coaches don’t necessarily promote complete abstinence or report the progress of a client to any hierarchical body, although they could depending on personal beliefs and who they are employed by. The coach-client relationship is a highly individualized and solution-focused approach where the two are partners who co-create in service of the client and their needs. Coaches believe the client is the expert on themselves and knows deep down what they want in terms of goals. As coaches, we have the training to provide the support, accountability, skills, and tools to get someone there.

Taking it one step further as a SHE RECOVERS Designated Coach we are trained in the intentions and guiding principles of the organization which include early intervention, individual pathways and patchworks of recovery, healing intergenerational traumas, healing and holding space for other women, practicing radical self-love, and recovering out loud when we’re ready – just to name a few. These principles are unique to SHE RECOVERS and each organization that provides coach training will have their own.

Understanding exactly what a Recovery Coach does is integral to understanding their place at the table within a Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC). Because coaching is naturally person-centered, it fits seamlessly into this care continuum, among a number of other reasons. For one, Recovery Coaching that is integrated into a person’s primary care can limit the number of hospital days and Emergency Department visits for patients with a substance use disorder, according to a recent study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. This is beneficial not only to the individual and the community but to the overall healthcare system.

Now that we are advancing into a space that views recovery on a spectrum, it’s beneficial to have a professional who is able to meet a person wherever they are in their journey.

We are no longer forcing people to be abstinent or pick and stay with a particular pathway of recovery. We understand that recovery is dynamic and ever-changing. Coaches encourage individuals to use a variety of tools in their patchworks of recovery. This includes recovery coaching as only one of many services a person can use to transform. Coaching is an excellent complement to attending 12 step meetings or other peer-to-peer support groups, seeing a therapist, and receiving medical treatment. It doesn’t have to be the only thing and it is not in competition with other pathways to recovery. It can also be used as the first, or last, support system for someone looking to recover. Recovery coaching is also available digitally, which has been a huge asset during the Covid-19 pandemic. Digital access can help cross accessibility barriers we often see with traditional treatment and recovery options.

Our goal as Recovery Coaches is to help people find freedom from substances or behaviors that are inhibiting them from living their best life. We know that in essence, this is what all elements of a Recovery Oriented System of Care strive to do. The highlights of coaching are its inclusive nature, its ability to meet people anywhere on the path of recovery, not just the beginning or the end, and its person-centered approach.

Coaches don’t tell you what to do, they ask questions to help guide you in the right direction. They actively listen. They don’t judge. Coaching is flexible in its length and intensity.

While traditional pathways to recovery are still effective and appreciated, coaching fills a large gap in care. Although the role of a Recovery Coach within a Recovery Oriented System of Care is not a new concept, our world is still catching up to the idea. As more studies on the efficacy of Recovery Coaching are currently being conducted, we are excited about its continued involvement in helping more people find and sustain recovery and live longer and happier lives.

There is still time to make an impact and help more women heal in recovery.

For as little as $5 USD you can help to ensure all women in or seeking recovery from substance use and/or mental health issues have access to a lifeline of support.

As a FOUNDING INVESTOR you and your contribution can be included in our online Portfolio of Hope and featured in the SHE RECOVERS® Foundation Annual Report – documenting this moment in herstory when this global life-saving movement first began.

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Shelly Dimitrijevic

Shelly Dimitrijevic’s professional and philanthropic activities have always focused on improving the lives of others. She began her nursing career at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis and went on to become a LifeFlight nurse specializing in neonatal, pediatric, and cardiovascular intensive care.

Shelly has been involved with numerous charities focusing on children and education including the Charlee and the Chocolate Factory gala, The Venus Orbit, Design For A Cure, Jackson Memorial, and Impact Oasis. In 2010 she founded the Lotus program, a program that focused on educating parents on the nutritional needs of children and basic child development. Shelly also served on the Frost Science Museum gala committee for 7 years before Co-Chairing the event in 2015.

After a diagnosis of Celiac disease and subsequently receiving Certification as a Nutritional Consultant, Shelly recognized that topically applied products have an effect on her Celiac Disease and overall health. She turned her focus to developing skincare that was free of toxic and hormone-disrupting ingredients.

Since she lost her only sibling in 2012 Shelly has been determined to find a way to contribute to the recovery community in a way that can make a great impact and ensure that others have the resources necessary when they are struggling.

Shelly's substantial contributions to SHE RECOVERS of both time and resources have been instrumental and deeply appreciated.

Kirsten Newquist

As a result of being introduced to SHE RECOVERS through retreats and meet-ups, Kirsten will be starting her yoga teacher training in the fall. These retreats also led her to become more deeply involved with SHE RECOVERS in a volunteer capacity. Kirsten was instrumental in setting up some of the Foundation's grassroots groups and currently volunteers her time helping SHE RECOVERS Foundation to design and implement the Volunteer Chapter Network. Kirsten and her husband recently moved from Southern California to Roswell, Georgia to be closer to Kirsten's sister and two young nieces. When she isn't spending time being an aunt, you can find Kirsten hanging out with their rescue Labrador or exploring their new state.

Mary Beth O'Connor

Mary Beth is a founding member of SHE RECOVERS Support for Legal Professionals and is active at the local level with SHE RECOVERS in the Bay Area. Mary Beth has been living a sober life in recovery for over 26 years. She also has a history of trauma and abuse, from which she’s worked hard to recover as well. 6 years into her recovery, Mary Beth attended Berkeley Law. She worked at a large firm in Silicon Valley, then litigated class actions for the federal government. In 2014 Mary Beth was appointed an Administrative Law Judge. She recently retired, so she could devote her time to completing her writing and being more active in the recovery community.

She regularly speaks on behalf of LifeRing and develops relationships with organizations supportive of the multiple pathways approach. In August 2020, Mary Beth had an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, I Beat Addiction without God, where she described building a personal recovery plan by combining ideas from LifeRing, Women for Sobriety, and Narcotics Anonymous. In November 2020 she had an op-ed published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, I was a federal judge, and I support Safehouse. Here’s why. She is currently working on a full-length memoir.

Taryn Strong

Taryn Strong is a founder of SHE RECOVERS® Foundation as well as a trauma-informed yoga instructor, recovery coach, aromatherapist, and herbalist (and daughter to Mama Dawn). Taryn has developed a unique yoga retreat program and led over 40 yoga for recovery retreats since 2012. She is also the host of the SHE RECOVERS Podcast and most recently created and taught the inaugural trauma-informed SHE RECOVERS Yoga Teacher Training Program. Operating from a trauma-informed lens and a firm believer in anti-oppressive practices, Taryn brings an empathic and invitational approach to healing - empowering women to find and follow individualized pathways and patchworks of recovery.

Taryn's courageous vulnerability and passion for recovering out-loud has made her an influential voice in the global recovery movement - smashing the stigma often associated with substance use and mental health issues. Taryn creates and lives with her beloved and two dogs within the ancestral and unceded traditional territory of the Hul’qumi’num and SENĆOŦEN speaking peoples (Saltspring Island).

Susan Carter

Susan is an architect of hope and healing with over 30 years of experience in providing executive-level leadership to heart-centered teams in the non-profit realm. Since joining SHE RECOVERS® Foundation as Executive Director in April 2020, Susan continues to weave her experience with her passion to help other women receive what she has been so graciously given – long-term recovery from substance use disorder, body image issues, codependency, perfectionism, and moral injury.

Susan’s work in the treatment industry quickly revealed how stigma kept women struggling with mental health issues and addiction from seeking help, and the lack of resources available to them once they did. Having served as a founding employee of Susan G. Komen for the Cure for 20 years, playing an integral role in creating the global grassroots movement that changed the way breast cancer is talked about and treated, she felt called to utilize that experience to do the same for women struggling with mental health and substance use disorders.

Celebrating more than 27 years of continuous sobriety, Susan is a Certified Peer Support Worker (CPSW) in the state of New Mexico to provide resources and peer support to those in or seeking recovery. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her fur family of four, Alex, Chaco, Bodhi, and Gracie.

Dawn Nickel

Dawn Nickel, Founder of SHE RECOVERS® Foundation, is a thought leader in the women's recovery sphere as well as an accomplished leader, dedicated researcher, and visionary in the recovery moment. She holds a Ph.D. in health care policy with extensive experience in researching and writing about women experiencing substance use disorders, mental health challenges, and intimate partner violence. Dawn started her own journey of recovery from a substance use disorder and domestic violence in 1987. She is also in recovery from anxiety, grief, trauma, overworking, and cancer. Dawn's tell-it-like-it-is wisdom has created a ripple effect where you will often hear her quotes "the shit you did is just the shit you did - it's not who you are" and "recovering from all the things" resonating throughout many recovery realms.

Currently working on her first book, Dawn is living proof that in a world where all women in or seeking recovery are celebrated, supported, and deemed essential to healthy communities - anything is possible. She is fondly referred to as Mama Dawn in the SHE RECOVERS Community and to her daughters Taryn and Ashley. Dawn lives, works, and plays with her beloved grandchildren on the traditional territories of the Lkwungen speaking peoples on Vancouver Island.

Nika is just one of more than 325,000 women in the She Recovers Community.

“Alcohol is what brought me into recovery but for me, it didn't tell the full story. That is why I love SHE RECOVERS so much. We don't just talk about our demons and the drugs and the alcohol, we talk about the real issues that led us to using those things in the first place.”— Nika

When she was ready to deal with her past traumas and what drove her to drink, SHE RECOVERS was there. Sadly an estimated 34 million women are suffering from mental health/substance use disorders.

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