Tag: PRS: Peer Recovery Specialist

What is Recovery Coaching?

Published on by Andrew Marshall1 Comment

Introduction

Recovery coaching is a form of strengths-based support for people with addictions or in recovery from alcohol, other drugs, co-dependency, or other addictive behaviours. They work with people who have active addictions, as well as those already in recovery. Recovery coaches are helpful for making decisions about what to do with one’s life and the part addiction or recovery plays in it. They help clients find ways to stop addiction (abstinence), or reduce harm associated with addictive behaviours. These coaches can help a client find resources for harm reduction, detox, treatment, family support and education, local or online support groups; or help a client create a change plan to recover on their own.

Recovery coaches do not offer primary treatment for addiction, do not diagnose, and are not associated with any particular method or means of recovery. They support any positive change, helping persons coming home from treatment to avoid relapse, build community support for recovery, or work on life goals not related to addiction such as relationships, work, or education. Recovery coaching is action-oriented with an emphasis on improving present life and reaching future goals.

Recovery coaching is unlike most therapy because coaches do not address the past, do not work to heal trauma, and put little emphasis on feelings. Recovery coaches are unlike licensed addiction counsellors in that they are non-clinical and do not diagnose or treat addiction or any mental health issues.

Refer to Recovery Model.

Relationship to Life Coaching

Similar to life and business coaching, recovery coaching uses a partnership model wherein the client is considered to be the expert on his or her life, the one who decides what is worth doing, and the coach provides expertise in supporting successful change. Recovery coaching focuses on achieving goals important to the client, not just recovery-related goals. The coach asks questions and offers reflections to help the client reach clarity and decide what steps to take. Recovery coaching emphasizes honouring values and making principle-based decisions, creating a clear plan of action, and using current strengths to reach future goals. The coach provides accountability to help the client stay on track.

Other Similar Terms

The moniker “recovery coach” is used for a variety of specific addiction support roles. The main distinction is between the professional or highly compensated recovery coach and the volunteer or agency-employed peer recovery support specialist. Recovery support roles include the following:

Sober Escort

A sober escort, or travel escort, is a paid sober travel companion or travel escort that accompanies a client to an event, to treatment, or to court, to ensure the client maintains sobriety. Transportation can be a significant challenge to a newly abstinent person. Whether the client is interested in maintaining an ongoing recovery or just needs to stay abstinent for a period of time, getting from point A to point B can be difficult. This version of a recovery coach may be required to transport a person in recovery across town, across the state, or across the county.

Sober Companion

A sober companion or sober coach works full-time with the client: full work days, nights, weekends or extended periods where the coach is by the client’s side 24 hours a day. This long-term option can begin with treatment discharge and may develop into a coaching relationship that continues for several weeks, months or longer.

When returning home from treatment, the client trades a secure, drug-free environment for a situation where they know there are problems. The sober companion may provide the symbolic and functional safety of the treatment centre. This coach will introduce the client to 12-step meetings, guide them past former triggers for their addiction, and support them in developing a recovery plan. The sober companion helps the client make lifestyle changes in order to experience a better quality of life in the first crucial days after discharge from a treatment centre. Sometimes a recovery coach is necessary to keep a client sober in order to regain custody of a child.

Recovery Support Specialist

A recovery support specialist (RSS) or a peer recovery support specialist (PRSS) is a non-clinical person who meets with clients in a recovery community organisation or goes off-site to visit a client. They may volunteer for these coaching services, or be employed by a recovery community organisation for a low wage. The recovery support specialist ensures there is a contract for engagement, called a personal recovery plan. This is a key component of the recovery management model, which all RSSs follow. These specialists are sometimes also called “recovery coaches”. William L. White, researcher and original author of the recovery management model, uses the term “recovery support specialist”. This is referenced in the paper titled “Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC) Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Glossary of Terms”, compiled by the Bureau of Substance Abuse and Addiction Services (BSAAS). Another term for a peer recovery support specialist is “peer mentor“.

Family Recovery Coach

The family plays an important role for a person in recovery but is often neglected by traditional models of recovery. Specially trained family recovery coaches strive to create a calm, objective, non-judgmental environment for the family of a recovering addict. They are knowledgeable in specific models that help the family cope with the changes that they have gone through living with an active addict or living with a recovering addict. Regardless of an addict’s choices, working with a family recovery coach may help a spouse, partner, or loved ones avoid the mental obsession that plagues many families affected by addiction and learn to lead sane and productive lives.

Phone or Virtual Recovery Coach

A phone or virtual recovery coaching relationship may be established to continue beyond the face-to-face meeting of a client and a recovery coach. Today, many treatment centres are embracing virtual recovery coaching, and linking phone or virtual recovery coaches with clients prior to leaving treatment, as a way to continue the connection to the treatment centre, as well as meeting the guidelines of an aftercare programme. Online virtual coaching programmes also exist, either fee-based or for free, that will help anyone apply the methods of recovery (e.g. developing a recovery plan and building recovery capital), whether the client has completed a stay at a treatment centre or has relapsed many months after treatment.

Legal Support Specialist

Lawyers dealing with criminal drug cases or drug courts sometimes request a type of recovery coaching to ensure a client (perhaps under house arrest, enrolled in a drug court outpatient programme or pending trial) stays sober as per the law’s mandate. Recovery coaches with the required certification and legal knowledge are contracted for this purpose. Certified Peer Recovery Support Specialists, Licensed clinical social workers or certified alcohol and drug counsellors with training in assessments can perform these tasks. The court will request them to perform a client assessment and work with the client on a continuing basis and re-assess after a period of time. The coach will then draft a letter to the court and offer suggested placement in a residential alcohol/drug treatment centre, an outpatient treatment programme, or a sober living facility. A legal support specialist can also appear in court with the client and provide transportation to or from the courthouse.

In the Emergency Departments of Hospitals

The AnchorED programme, developed in 2014 with a group of Rhode Island hospitals and the Anchor Community Recovery Centre in Providence RI, was launched in an attempt to reduce the instance of accidental opioid overdose by connecting overdose patients with Certified Recovery Coaches in the emergency departments of regional hospitals. The AnchorED programme is now a benchmark in this field and is used nationwide. This programme is meant to connect people experiencing an overdose, or revived from an overdose in the ED in the hospital emergency departments with peer-to-peer recovery support. Specially trained ED Peer Recovery Specialists are on call to all Emergency Departments 24/7 and called in when individuals are transported to a hospital emergency department having survived an opiate overdose. The hours immediately after an overdose are medically risky, but they also present a unique opportunity. The AnchorED trained recovery coaches will make sure that patients and their families know that substance use disorder is a medical condition and that recovery is possible. Recovery Coaches engage with those who have survived an opiate overdose, listen and be present to answer questions patients may have about recovery supports or treatment options. These coaches also provide recovery and treatment information to family members. These same coaches offer post-discharge recovery contact and support to the revived patients for a period of weeks.

Brief History

Alida Schuyler, a coach credentialed by the International Coach Federation (ICF), who was in recovery from addiction, wrote the first recovery coach certification training programme specifically aimed at training students to coach people with addictions. She also created the first special interest group for recovery coaches, and she co-founded the non-profit Recovery Coaches International with Andrew Susskind.

William L. White used the term “recovery coach” in his 2006 paper “Sponsor, Recovery Coach, Addiction Counselor”, but later adopted the term “peer recovery support specialist” to emphasize a community-based peer model of addiction support.

White’s Recovery Management model, adapted from the Minnesota Model, includes recovery coaching (peer recovery support specialist) and was developed in 2006. Many recovery coaches use different recovery approaches adapted from the Minnesota Model. Schuyler developed a professional model of life coaching for addiction recovery by blending the Minnesota Model and Harm Reduction model with the core competencies of the ICF.

Through the research of White, David Loveland, Ernest Kurtz, and Mark Saunders, and the efforts funded through Faces and Voices of Recovery, the Fayette Companies, Great Lakes Addiction Technology Transfer Centre, the Chestnut Health Systems and many other universities, research on recovery coaching is progressing rapidly. The theory has been developed that recovery coaching reduces relapse by providing ongoing support developing healthy problem-solving skills and self efficacy (reaching worthwhile goals), as well as connecting with the local recovery community for additional support. In other words, recovery coaching helps the client develop the cognitive skills necessary for considering options and consequences, making clear choices, planning, and taking actions toward a healthier life and recovery goals.

Recovery coaching is currently offered by some notable 12-step treatment centres as well as several private “academies” and “institutes” with certifications that are usually country and/or state specific. Be sure to check local laws for compliance.

Addiction Recovery Support Groups

Recovery coaches encourage (but most do not require) participation in groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Al-Anon, or non 12-step groups such as LifeRing Secular Recovery, SMART Recovery, Moderation Management, and Women for Sobriety. They also work with individuals who dislike groups to help them find their own path to recovery.

Niches within Recovery Coaching

Recovery coaches may work with any type of addict. There are also niches within recovery coaching such as those who work exclusively with families of recovering individuals, or a financial coach who works on rebuilding an overspender’s credit rating. Many peer recovery support specialists work with individuals who have left the prison system and are attempting to rebuild their lives. Some recovery coaches specialise in emotional and financial recovery after divorce.

A few recovery coaches specialise in merging the characteristics of recovery coaching within a life coaching framework. This concept takes into account the often overlooked reality that those in early recovery tend to have unique difficulties in applying the realities of day-to-day living within their new sober lifestyle. Such unique coaching styles are able to span far beyond the recovery component and properly introduce outside influencers, such as family relationships, employment, schooling, and relationships.

For those requiring a higher level of care, such as medical detoxification for heroin or opiate withdrawal, or 24/7 sober companion and oversight services, there exist recovery coaching firms which specialise in providing what could often be described as an alternative to inpatient or outpatient treatment. Companies like The Addictions Coach and others which have nationwide credentials are able to essentially bring the addiction treatment component to the client, no matter where he or she may be located.

What Recovery Coaches Do

Recovery coaches support the client in achieving and maintaining a solid foundation in recovery, and building upon recovery to achieve other life goals that make recovery worthwhile. David Loveland and Michael Boyle wrote a lengthy manual on recovery coaching and how to guide an individual through creating their recovery plan. William White, preeminent scholar on addictions, worked closely with the Philadelphia community-based recovery centre PRO-ACT to prepare a document outlining the “Ethical Guidelines for the Delivery of Peer-Based Recovery Support Services”. These documents provide a discussion of what a recovery coach does. Also included in these guidelines are the definition of coaching roles as they relate to others in the realm of personal conduct and conduct in service relationships with the community service provider or treatment team. White’s document presents a simple statement of core competencies.

What is PARfessionals?

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Introduction

PARfessionals is an US, Arkansas-based, private research development firm for Peer Support and Recovery Providers in Addictions.

Background

The company was founded in 2011 by Jorea M. Kelley-Hardison She self-published the book “Getting Ahead: An Ex-Offenders Guide to Getting Ahead in Today’s Society”, where she encourages ex-offenders to participate in clinical research trials. She is mentioned in Dr. Jon Marc Taylor’s book “Prisoners’ Guerrilla Handbook to Correspondence Programs in the United States and Canada,” published by Prison Legal News in 2008.

Jorea Kelley-Hardison was taking classes to become a Clinical Research Coordinator (CRC) before she decided to transition into the addiction industry to become an Addictions Counsellor in 2009. Around that time, she received her CCJP – a status from the Texas Certification Board of Addiction Professionals and has been granted numerous credentials from the board, including the Peer Recovery Specialist (PRS), Peer Mentor/Peer Recovery Coach (PM-PRC) and the Associate Prevention Specialist (APS) credentials, but has since retired those credentials.

Jorea Kelley-Hardison earned a B.S. degree in Management in 2009 and has completed degree requirements in order to graduate with a M.A. in Criminal Justice from the American (Military) Public University System. She has also earned a graduate certificate in Applied Forensic Psychology Services from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. In addition, she has obtained certificates in mental health, non-profit management, applied forensic psychology services, basic clinic research, family and business mediation, substance abuse, as well as emergency management. In addition, she has received training throughout the years in various important topics such as rape/domestic violence crisis intervention, hospice, and health unit coordination from various organizations and colleges including Parkland Health & Hospital System, Brookhaven College, Lakewood College, Centre for Degree Studies, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Thomas Edison State College, University of Texas at Arlington-Continuing Education Division, and Richland College.

She is currently a member of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, NAADAC – The Association of Addiction Professionals, National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals, National Association of Health Unit Coordinators, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association and the International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology.

Brief History

In 2011, the word ” PARfessionals” was created by the company’s founder. In 2012, PARfessionals decided to develop the first peer-based online recovery coach training programme designed for those interested in mentoring individuals into and through long-term recovery from co-occurring disorders and other addictions and addictive behaviours.

In 2013, PARfessionals developed the first Peer Recovery/Addiction Recovery Coach Study Guide, a free Peer Recovery/Addiction Recovery Coach Curriculum Guide, a free Peer Recovery/Addiction Recovery Coach Practicum Guide and an online Peer Recovery/Addiction Recovery Coach Train the Trainers course. Additionally, PARfessionals’ founder and several family members applied for an ACE college credit review with The American Council On Education and then to Distance Education Accreditation Council (DEAC) in August 2015. After being rejected by DEAC, the founder contacted Charter State Oak College who in November 2015 about their program being recognised for college credit under their college assessment programme.

PARfessionals designed a Peer Recovery Facilitator Development e-Course in an effort to support the ongoing efforts of social service agencies, foundations, government agencies, and employers worldwide. This course would also work towards the development of community re-entry programs for inmates and workforce development skills for disadvantaged individuals such as ex-offenders, disabled individuals, low-income communities and minorities.

It was developed in collaboration with post-secondary educators and coaching experts for a diverse population with an array of learning skills who may be teaching, employing or supporting those who may be inmates, ex-offenders, mental health consumers, recovering addicts and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It provides adult-oriented learning strategies for a diverse group of individuals with different learning abilities.

The online Peer Recovery Facilitator Development e-Course was officially approved in 2014, by the Association for Addiction Professionals, also known as NAADAC.

In 2014, PARfessionals developed the first free Peer Recovery Support Specialist/Addiction Recovery Coach classroom curriculum kits in addition to a home study course, a correctional correspondence course for inmates, research journal, universal Code of Ethics and an international certification board. Additionally, PARfessionals’ founder created an in-house private virtual research institute, the Powell Leary Jacobs (PLJ) Multicultural Institute for Transformation Research in Addictions, to self-fund resources on Peer Recovery and Prevention. It was internally closed in 2014.

From 2013-2014, PARfessionals and its parent organisation, the SJM Family Foundation (which closed in January 2015 through the Texas Secretary of State) provided seven scholarships for eligible candidates from the general public who were devoted to seeking training for addiction treatment and peer recovery services.

Kelley-Hardison also established the International Certification Board of Recovery Professionals (ICBRP), the first ever, peer-run certification board created for peer recovery professionals in the world. The ICBRP’s mission was to be an independent, informal ad-hoc advisory board that provides guidance and accountability for the National Certified Peer Recovery Professionals (NCPRP) credentialing programme. However, it was later dissolved (through the Georgia Secretary of State in March 2015), and merged into PARfessionals’ private corporate structure.

In Spring 2017, The PARfessionals’ Cultural Intelligence in Addictions course supplemental student workbook was included in the German National Library.

As of August 2018, PARfessionals is a private product design and consulting firm doing business as PARfessionals Behavioural Health Research Development Corporation. The founder, Jorea Kelley-Hardison is a nationally certified psychiatric technician and social impact artist that has successfully worked with dozens of licensed professional clinicians and medical staff worldwide, including professionals from Harvard Medical School and the National Institute of Health. to create 45+ PARfessionals’ branded resources, including Peer Recovery Practicum Guide, a Peer Recovery Pre-Certification Review e-Course. a Peer Recovery Supervision Training Course, and Peer Recovery classroom curriculum kits.

In order to accomplish the company’s goals, Kelley-Hardison, along with members of the AR SJM Family, hired and privately paid independent contractors and freelancers, also Ms. Hardison and several of her family members working as volunteers using their own money, and collaborating with a group of qualified contracted experts from across the world that had acquired degrees, held additional credentials and had significant work experience in their own respective fields.

The Definition of “Peer Recovery”

The term peer recovery can be first defined through PARfessionals as “the process of giving and receiving encouragement and assistance to achieve long-term recovery. Peers offer emotional support, share knowledge, teaches skills, provide practical assistance, and connect people with resources, opportunities, communities of support, and other people”.

The Association for Addiction Professionals provides a different definition of recovery. According to William White, MA, “recovery is the experience… through which individuals, families, and communities impacted by severe alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems utilize internal and external resources to voluntarily resolve these problems, heal the wounds inflicted by AOD related problems, actively manage their continued vulnerability to such problems, and develop a healthy, productive, and meaningful life”.

The International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium states that “peer recovery is experiencing rapid growth, whether it is provided by a peer recovery coach, peer recovery support specialist, peer navigator, patient navigators, public health learning navigators, behavioural health navigator or peer recovery mentor. Peer support services – advocating, mentoring, educating, and navigating systems – are becoming an important component in recovery oriented systems of care”.

IC&RC credentials and examinations, including Peer Recovery are administered exclusively by various certification and licensing boards in the United States and the world.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioural health of the nation. SAMHSA’s mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities.

SAMHSA states that:

Peer support services are delivered by individuals who have common life experiences with the people they are serving. People with mental and/or substance use disorders have a unique capacity to help each other based on a shared affiliation and a deep understanding of this experience. In self-help and mutual support, people offer this support, strength, and hope to their peers, which allows for personal growth, wellness promotion, and recovery.

Research has shown that peer support facilitates recovery and reduces health care costs. Peers also provide assistance that promotes a sense of belonging within the community. The ability to contribute to and enjoy one’s community is key to recovery and well-being. Another critical component that peers provide is the development of self-efficacy through role modeling and assisting peers with ongoing recovery through mastery of experiences and finding meaning, purpose, and social connections in their lives.”

Peer Recovery Navigator Academics Programme and (Micro-Certification) Registry

In 2012, PARfessionals developed the first globally recognised online training programme for peer recovery professionals. As of September 2015, PARfessionals offers an online distance learning pre-certification training course, a home study correspondence course and an inmate correspondence course for student-candidates to study at their own pace for global certification in peer recovery. The curriculum is based on proven research in order to make it the most specialised and comprehensive training programme for a new generation of Peer Recovery Professionals for a variety of settings.

Students worldwide have completed the training and shared their satisfaction with PARfessionals training programme.

PARfessionals developed its own exam and credential, NCPRP, which stands for “National Certified Peer Recovery Professional”.

The NCPRP credential and exam primarily emphasize the concept of peer recovery, with the main purpose of providing guidance, knowledge or assistance, especially among those with similar experiences who can meet as equals. The certification was integrated into the academic programme and renamed the PARfessionals’ Peer Recovery Workforce Development Certification Programme.

In Fall 2016, PARfessionals’ founder worked with qualified and licensed clinicians to create and sponsor the world’s first college level peer recovery training course and lifetime credential for the behavioural healthcare workforce, which was submitted and reviewed through the Connecticut Credit Assessment Programme and The Consortium for the Assessment of College Equivalence of Charter State College in Fall 2016.

Global Health Impact

Deloitte provides an annual look at the topics, trends, and issues impacting the global health care sector. According to its 2017 Global Healthcare Sector Outlook Infographic, “Peer support, self-management education, health coaching, and group activities, along with workforce training, and investments in the right technology” are “potential enablers of patient activation and engagement” and “key ingredients for productive health care operations”.

Behavioural Health Educational Mobile Apps

In February 2016, PARfessionals’ founder, Ms. Kelley Hardison started to partner with several independent app developers to develop Behavioural Health educational apps and games for the Addiction Peer Workforce.

Mobile Library Garden and Pocket Park Commemoration

In the fall of 2016, the AR SJM Family distributed two college preparatory guides, PARfessionals’ Peer Recovery/Cultural Intelligence in Addictions and PARfessionals’ Peer Recovery Navigator Practicum Guide to 240,000+ digital libraries and 2,000 digital publishers across the world. In 2017, the successful worldwide distribution was commemorated with a plaque in a mobile library garden and pocket park in Centennial, Texas.

Approvals

PARfessionals is an approved behavioural health training provider recognised by many states, national and international professional associations and state boards.