What are Recovery Coaches, Peer Specialists and Recovery Peer Volunteers?

Have you read the terms “Recovery Coach,” “Peer Specialist,” and “Recovery Peer Volunteer” and wondered what they are?  Here’s your chance to find out!

A Recovery Coach is someone that is successfully dealing with an addiction issue, and has taken a 50+ hour curriculum of coaching and ethics training. In Idaho, a Recovery Coach may or may not be certified.  Certified coaches have completed additional steps-internship time and a test-through the Idaho Board of Alcohol/Drug Counselors Certification.  In short, a Recovery Coach is a trained person with lived addiction experience that is here to help others as they struggle with their addiction issues.

A  Peer Specialist is very similar to a Recovery Coach in amounts of training and experience required.  However, they have lived experience with a mental health issue, and are here to help others with such.

At the Latah Recovery Center we also have “Recovery Peer Volunteers.” These are volunteers with lived experience that have taken a six hour “highlights” training that goes over many of the topics in the Recovery Coach and Peer Specialist trainings.  These volunteers must then pass a board of review testing their knowledge, and are then closely overseen by our Recovery Peer Program Coordinator, a person that has taken both Recovery Coach and Peer Specialist trainings, and has lived experience with both.

How is that working, you ask? Judge for yourself:

1.  Participants in our program show a 2% improvement in Quality of Life after 9 months of coaching.  This seems small, but is actually good.  Many people actually see a decrease in quality of life when they first enter recovery.  This is frequently due to job loss, loss of friends, family and others as they transition away from their addictions.

2.  Recovery Capitol improves by 9% over that same time period.  Recovery Capitol is the “tools” in a persons toolbox.  Increased recovery capitol means they have more tools:  leading to less likelihood of remission and shorter remission periods.

3.  Physical wellness increases by 13% over that same 9 month period.

For our full report click below.