MRC Coach Spotlight: Bill Buehner
Recovery coaches play a crucial role in the process of helping individuals living with substance use disorder navigate their road to recovery. Today we are launching the MRC Coach Spotlight. Each month, we’ll shine a light on a member of Healthy Acadia’s Maine Recovery Core (MRC) team, and we invite you to join us in celebrating the hard work and dedication that these recovery coaches have shown to their community, the people they support, and Healthy Acadia. This month, the MRC Coach Spotlight is on Bill Buehner!
Bill Buehner
Bill is a Maine Recovery Core Intern and Recovery Coach based in Washington County.
Bill's journey with Healthy Acadia began four years ago when he joined as a volunteer in 2019. He has since become an integral part of the MRC Program, which officially launched in 2021.
As an MRC Intern, Bill is always eager and willing to contribute to community outreach and events, helping to spread the word about Healthy Acadia mission and work. With his years of experience as an MRC intern, Bill has become an compassionate and inspiring mentor to new coaches, guiding and supporting them in understanding the importance and impact of this work. He brings out the best in those who join this crucial mission, helping them find their footing and build their mentoring skills.
As a recovery coach, Bill is nothing short of remarkable. He provides steadfast support to individuals across the community, including those who are incarcerated, undergoing treatment, or living in sober environments. Bill's passion for his work shines through in his dedication to his recoverees, co-workers, and the community he serves.
Bill's contributions to the MRC team are immeasurable. His knowledge and trustworthiness are pillars of strength in the field, but it's his humor and joy that truly set him apart. In the most challenging of days, Bill's positivity and spirit help the team persevere and remain focused on their mission.
Bill Buehner is a shining example of the positive impact one person can have on their community and beyond. His journey from volunteer to mentor and recovery coach is not just inspiring but a testament to the power of compassion and dedication. We salute Bill and eagerly anticipate the many more lives he will touch through his remarkable work.
Bill, your dedication to the MRC program, Healthy Acadia, your recoverees, and your community is truly exceptional. Without individuals like you, our mission to create healthier and happier communities would be incomplete.
Thank you, Bill, for being a beacon of hope and support for our community through Maine Recovery Core!
Recovery Coaches Play a Critical Role
Recovery coaches offer individualized, holistic, and ongoing support to individuals in all stages of recovery. Recovery Coaches offer:
Support and Empathy
Recovery coaches provide a non-judgmental and empathetic presence for individuals in all stages of recovery. They understand the challenges and struggles associated with addiction because many coaches have personally experienced recovery. This empathy is invaluable in helping individuals feel understood and not alone in their journey.
Personalized Guidance
Recovery coaches work one-on-one with individuals, offering personalized guidance and support. They help those seeking recovery set achievable goals, create recovery plans, and navigate the complex path to sobriety. These plans often address physical, emotional, and social aspects of immediate and long-term recovery.
Relapse Prevention
Coaches are trained to recognize the signs of potential relapse and can intervene to help prevent it. They work one-on-one with individuals to develop coping strategies, stress management techniques, and problem-solving skills to deal with triggers and temptations.
Access to Resources
Recovery coaches are well-connected to local support services and resources. They can connect recoverees with treatment programs, therapy, support groups, social supports, and other essential services that aid in recovery. This network can make a significant difference in an individual's success in maintaining sobriety.
Accountability
Coaches provide accountability and motivation. Recoverees meet with their coaches regularly, which can encourage consistency in following a recovery plan and reduce the chances of relapse.
Building Self-Esteem and Confidence
Navigating the complex and often difficult road to recovery can have negative impacts on individual self-esteem and confidence. Recovery coaches can aid individuals in regaining their self-worth and a sense of accomplishment as they reach milestones in their recovery journey.
A Bridge Between Clinical Care and Real Life
Coaches act as a bridge between clinical treatment and the real world. They support individuals as they transition from structured treatment programs back into their daily lives, teaching them how to apply the skills they've learned in treatment to real-world situations.
Reducing Stigma
Recovery coaches work to reduce the stigma associated with substance addiction. They promote understanding and compassion, aiming to shift the perspective of addiction as a moral failing to a treatable health condition.
Long-Term Support
Recovery is an ongoing process. Recovery coaches can provide long-term support, even after formal treatment has ended, helping individuals maintain their sobriety over the years.
Cost-Effective
Utilizing peer recovery coaches can be a cost-effective approach to substance use disorder treatment. By preventing relapses and connecting individuals to appropriate resources, they can reduce the burden on the healthcare system and save both money and lives.
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.