Where do I get Recovery Coaching Training?

This blog information has been updated. A new list of 250 recovery coaching training organizations has been posted at: https://www.mkrecoverycoaching.com/recovery-coach-training-organizations/

If you have questions about the process of getting recovery coach certification, please go to: https://www.mkrecoverycoaching.com/blog/ and read the blog from September 2015, “What certification do I need to be a recovery coach?”  It is part of a series of blogs on recovery coaches, peer to peer recovery support specialists and professional life recovery coaches, what certificates and training are necessary for these careers and where to obtain the training and certificates.

                                                                                                                  -Melissa Killeen

The following blog from 2013, is the fourth in an ongoing series of excerpts taken from Melissa Killeen’s book, RECOVERY COACHING — A Guide to Coaching People in Recovery from Addictions. (Recovery Coaching Guide – A Guide to Coaching People in Recovery from Addictions). This text is from Chapter 7, Recovery Coaching Training, Certification and Credentialing.

Where do I get Recovery Coaching Training ?

Many people ask me where they can get recovery coaching training. There are many for-profit training organizations that offer virtual or face to face recovery coaching training in many states. There are also many not for profit organizations that have recovery coaching training as well, however they may not be in your state as yet. As follows is a list of as many coaching training organizations that I have come across in researching my book. If there is not a course listed for your state, feel free to contact me by clicking “leave a comment” at the end of this blog, and I will find out more information for you.

For Profit Recovery Coaching Training Organizations

Sober.com offers virtual recovery coach training. Through a series of webinar courses, the Del Ray Beach, Florida company is committed to training recovery coaches nationwide. Sober.com offers recovery coaching consultations online and services to the recovery community by providing resources to find treatment centers, half way houses and therapists. More information is available at the web site: http://sober.com.

There are other coaching training schools that offer various advanced recovery coaching curricula. The London Recovery Coaching Academy is offering recovery coaching training that is accredited, certified and is internationally recognized by the European Recovery Coaching Certification Board. Details can be found at: http://londonuserforum.org/recovery-coaching-2013-tp.

Crossroads Coaching, (www.crossroadscoaching.net) offers training that lasts roughly one year, meeting one day a week for two hours. Contact the Crossroads Coaching website for more information.

Recovery Coaches International is an association for recovery coaches (www.recoverycoaching.org) and was founded by the Crossroads Coaching owner, Alida Schuyler. This association is developing the training requirements for different certification levels of recovery coaching.

Workshops, seminars or instruction at national conventions are sources to receive additional training and continuing education units with the focus on recovery coaching and its impact in the addictions field. One source for this training is at the International Recovery Coaching Conference (ircconference.com), an organization in the United Kingdom, affiliated with the Recovery Coaching Foundation (www.recoverycoachingfoundation.co.uk/) which also has a recovery coach training division.

A List of For Profit Recovery Coach Training Organizations

Crossroads Coaching, Port Angeles, Wash.
http://www.crossroadscoaching.net/blog/?tag=recovery-coach-training
(Virtual)

Diversified Interventions Group
http://interventiontreatmentrecovery.org/recovery-coaching/
(Face-to-Face training in a variety of locations)

Fowler Wainwright International Institute of Professional Coaching, Las Vegas, NV
http://www.fowlerwainwright.com/crccourse/recovery.php
(training in Las Vegas, only)

Governors State University, College of Health and Human Services, Coaching for Recovery Training Program, University Park, Illinois
http://www.govst.edu/chhs/das/default.aspx?id=40537
(training at University Park, IL location)

NET Training Institute
http://www.netinstitute.org/content/recovery-coach-program
(Virtual, Florida based)

The London Recovery Coaching Academy
http://londonuserforum.org/recovery-coaching-2013-tp/
(UK)

Palm Partners, Palm Beach, Florida
http://www.palmpartners.com/training/recovery-coach-academy/
(training at Palm Beach Fl. location)

The Recovery Coaching Foundation, London, UK
http://www.recoverycoachingfoundation.co.uk/recovery-coach-training
(UK)

Recovery Coaching Institute
http://www.recoverycoachingassociates.co.uk/#!home/mainPage
(United Kingdom and South Africa, Virtual)

Resource Training Center’s Recovery & Life Coaching Academy, New York City
http://www.resourcetraining.org/recovery_coach.html

Sober Network, Florida
http://www.recoverycoaches.com
(Virtual training)

World Coaching Institute
http://worldcoachinstitute.com/courses/addiction-recovery-coach-certification.html (Virtual or Self Study)

Not for Profit Recovery Coaching Training Organizations

No matter what recovery coaching training is offered, these trainings are based on the manuals and papers written by William White, David Loveland and Michael Boyle. The trainings are meant to meet the guidelines of each state’s credentialling board. CCAR, PRO-ACT, and the McShin Foundation are not for profit organizations that were the first to began training recovery coaches and work very closely with their state’s certification boards.

It is important to investigate the recovery coaching training you are considering includes a thorough discussion of the coaching core competencies and a code of coaching ethics. Take advantage of the links I offer in this blog to further your research in these areas.

As follows are not for profit organizations providing recovery coaching or peer support practioner training at a relatively low cost. After taking these courses, a coach can apply for certification through their state’s certification or licensing board.

A List of Not for Profit Recovery Coaching Training Organizations

Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery, CCAR, Hartford, CT
http://www.ccar.us/
(locations vary, contact organization)

Friends of Recovery, Manchester & Londonderry, New Hampshire
http://www.recoverynh.com/recovery-coaching/overview/
(training in various locations in New Hampshire, contact organization)

Friends of Recovery.Org, NYC and statewide
https://www.for-ny.org/rca-trainings.php
(all over NY State)

Friends of Recovery, Montpelier, Vermont
http://www.friendsofrecoveryVt.org/get-involved/training/vermont-recovery-coach-academy/
(various Vermont locations)

Mental Health Association of NJ, Verona, NJ
http://www.mhanj.org/consumer-connections-2/consumer-connections-core-training/ (Free Training for New Jersey residents)

McShin Foundation, Richmond, VA
http://mcshinfoundation.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Recovery Coach Manual
(training in Richmond, Virginia)

New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services, Albany, NY
http://www.oasas.ny.gov/recovery/coach/index.cfm
(New York City & statewide)

PARfessionals, Ft. Worth, Texas
http://www.parfessionals.org
(virtual and in various locations)

Pennsylvania Recovery Organization-Achieving Community Together, PRO-ACT in Southeastern Pennsylvania
http://www.councilsepa.org/programs/pro-act
(Philadelphia, Pa)

The Resource Training Center, NYC, Brooklyn, Queens
http://www.resourcetraining.org/recovery_coach
(locations vary, contact organization)

The Starting Point, Minnetonka, Minnesota
http://www.startingpointmn.com/relapse-prevention-training-curriculum/

Texas Department of Health Services, Austin TX and statewide
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/mhsa/sa/recoverycoach/
(various locations in Texas)

Utah Support Advocates for Recovery, Awareness, Midvale, Utah
http://www.usara.us or myusara.com
(training at Midvale, Utah location)

 Recovery Coach Certification

There are groups of recovery coaches that prefer to avoid any credentialing or licensure and there are groups of recovery coaches that demand certification to prove their worth. Some certification boards will certify coaches to work in agencies or hospitals and not certify coaches that work for themselves. This quandary happens in many young and growing fields and eventually, a clear path with reveal itself. In the meantime, a person interested in being a recovery coach should get as much training and experience as possible.

Take a training, keep up with regular updates on re-certification education. Get out there and volunteer your time with a recovery support center, at a treatment center, homeless shelter or a half way house. Without the experience of actually coaching, you will never learn how to be a coach!

Recovery Coach Certification is obtained through your state certification board, or licensing board, the same organization that certifies addiction professionals (CADC and LPAC Certifications). In these various trainings, an individual will receive information on the knowledge necessary to be certified as a recovery coach and the training will give out a diploma, not a license or certification. The individual will then go to their state certification board, pay a registration fee and complete the required hours for supervised recovery coaching (500 hours in NJ, for example). After the supervised hours are completed, the coach will receive the certification. At the present time there are not any cross-credentialing agreements with the International Coaching Federation for any of these state recovery coaching certifications.

Check into your state’s certification board or refer to the web site of the IC&RC for more recovery coaching credentialling  information:

IC&RC-International Certification and
Reciprocity Consortium, Inc.
Email: info@internationalcredentialing.org
Phone: +1 717-540-4457
Web Site: http://internationalcredentialing.org