Expanding Recovery Support: Embracing the Power of Recovery Coaching
Guest article by Denise Black, Healthy Acadia Maine Alliance for Recovery Coaching (Maine-ARC) Co-Director. This article is also featured in the August 2023 issue of Journey Magazine. To view the article and accompanying photos in Journey Magazine, click here. The article begins on page 44.
Recovery coaching, a free resource for those seeking recovery and their affected family members, is rapidly expanding across Maine. Little known in Maine six years ago, coaching has now spread statewide, has become professionalized, and is gaining traction in a variety of settings such as treatment, corrections, emergency departments, recovery centers, and more. Affected family members are also eligible for this compassionate, supportive program.
Recovery coaches are able to provide support as an individual navigates through their recovery journey and honor all pathways to recovery. Having lived experience with substance use disorder, either personally or as an affected other, recovery coaches provide mentoring, resource navigation, and general recovery support to individuals and/or family members. Coaches also provide a bridge to resources and offer support, hope, and optimism for daily living.
Healthy Acadia houses two large and highly integrated coaching systems. Maine Alliance for Recovery Coaching (Maine-ARC) and Maine Recovery Core. Maine-ARC provides training, supervision, technical assistance, and funding for six recovery coach coordinators. Each coordinator supports a full system of recovery coaching and the coaches in their region. Maine Recovery Core (MRC) offers recovery coaching positions as paid internships. MRC interns offer direct peer support at a variety of partner sites, with the aim to improve recovery success among individuals facing substance use disorders. Working closely together, both of these programs span Aroostook, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo, and Washington counties, and are funded by the Maine Office of Behavioral Health.
Committed to implementing a recovery coach system with high standards of support and ongoing education, Maine-ARC and MRC recovery coaches are required to be trained in the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR) Recovery Coach Academy, and Ethical Consideration for Recovery Coaches course. In addition, they are also required to be registered recovery coaches through the Maine Recovery Coach Certification Board (MRCCB) and attend supervision developed specifically for recovery coaches.
Recovery from substances can be one of the most challenging, yet profoundly rewarding experiences in a person’s life. There are thousands of people in Maine that are in recovery from substances and living full, productive, and beautiful lives. A recovery coach is a person that can relate to your experiences because they have been there and done it. Being supported during your recovery can make the difference between struggling and thriving, and a recovery coach may be an asset to your recovery. Please consider this free resource as an option. Prevention works, treatment is effective and recovery is possible!
Learn more about recovery coaching, and request a free recovery coach here: https://healthyacadia.org/need-help
For more information please contact Maine-ARC Co-Directors Denise Black at denise@healthyacadia.org or Terri Woodruff at terri@healthyacadia.org or MRC Director, Kriste Sprague kriste.sprague@healthyacadia.org
Denise Black serves as the Co-Director of the Maine Alliance for Recovery Coaching with Healthy Acadia and has been a leader in the field of community health for 25 years. Ensuring effective and far-reaching recovery coach programming, she offers technical assistance to sites and is also a designated CCAR Recovery Coach Professional/Facilitator. As a woman in long-term recovery, Denise is passionate about building recovery-friendly communities and multiple pathways to recovery for all.