Personal Recovery Coaching Contract

Recovery Nation offers professional coaching for those seeking a more structured, personalized experience throughout their transition to health. To protect both the person seeking guidance (you) and Recovery Nation (RN), the following information must be understood and agreed to. It is accepted that RN already agrees to the following:

Waiver/Release of Liability

1. It is the responsibility of the person seeking to end their addiction who must take full responsibility for the effort and motivation necessary for such changes to occur. And while we know the path of a Health Based Recovery will guide a motivated person through that transition to health, we also know that ultimately, it is the individual's willingness to accept responsibility for their life that will determine their outcome. By signing this waiver, you agree that you are the person responsible for your actions.

2. Throughout the workshop/coaching process, you will be challenged to expand your awareness, alter your perceptions and to develop life skills that will require emotional risks to be taken. By signing this waiver, you are agreeing to take these risks as you feel comfortable. And, that you understand your right to decline participation in any activity/exercise that you do not feel comfortable with.

3. Recovery Nation is staffed by compassionate, competent volunteers who do what they do in order to help those who are where they once were. It is understood that some coaches are professionally licensed mental health providers; however, while working in the capacity as an RN coach, they are not allowed to engage in any type of therapeutic services with RN clients--beyond the coaching contract. Further, they are not allowed to recruit clients for private services without both parties expressed, written desire to do so having been approved by the coaching board. By signing this waiver, you agree to contact Jon Marsh directly with any behaviors that you find unprofessional and/or otherwise beyond the bounds of the coaching contract. It is our primary goal to maintain a safe, effective coaching service for those who need it. To do so will require your monitoring and willingness to provide such feedback.

4. Recovery Nation is a grass-roots organization that works on an anonymous basis. We have no budget and staffed entirely by volunteers who have gone through their respective workshops and have shown the ability to understand, apply and share those insights with others. For professional coaches, a certification process involving direct training and monitoring has been achieved. However, because of the anonymity factor of the site, no background checks can be done and so, it will be your responsibility to notify Jonathan Marsh immediately of any behavior that falls outside of the coaching contract so that appropriate action can be taken. At no time will RN or its volunteer staff be held liable for any actions of any other participant involved with RN--including its coaches. Unless you have notified Jon and appropriate action was not taken.

Note: Since our inception in 2001, we have not had a single complaint about any of our coaches acting outside of the coaching contract. But just in case, know that there is a grievance process that we will use to ensure your safety and the site's integrity. By signing this waiver, you agree to immediately notify Jonathan Marsh of any behavior that violates the coaching contract so that appropriate action can be taken.

Recovery Coaching Contract

1. Professional coaching IS NOT the same as professional counseling and should never be used to replace the role of a therapist. The role of a recovery coach is to train an individual to the insights and skills necessary to end their addiction; and to maintain a healthy life beyond addiction. Often, when someone is struggling with active addiction and/or in the early phase of recovery, co-occuring issues are involved (i.e. depression, anger, marital crisis, etc.) that are addressed within the coaching process. Again, discussing such issues as a part of the recovery process is NOT intended to replace the need for professional therapy for said issues. The goal of a recovery coach is to address these issues within the context of the addiction/recovery process, not to take them on as separate issues.

CC#1 Recovery Coaches are there to train you in the skills necessary to overcome your addiction and, to help you maintain a life without addiction. They are not there to provide you with counseling. On co-occurring issues such as depression, anger, domestic violence, life issues, etc., their responsibility is limited to listening to what it is you are experiencing, sharing their observations, putting such issues into the context of a Health Based Recovery and/or encouraging you to seek professional assistance with those issues. At no time should they ever contradict your therapist and/or offer suggestions of treatment beyond what is generally accepted as public knowledge.

2. Recovery coaches are human beings. They are at times imperfect, opinionated, judgmental, etc. The goal of every coach--and indeed, it is a trait that is looked for when selecting coaches--is that of impartiality. That does not mean that they become dispassionate about your situation but rather, that they recognize that YOU are the one living YOUR life...and so, YOU are the one who must make the decisions based on what you feel is best. At no time should a coach pressure you into acting in a certain way. This is a self-help program that places you at the helm of your life. Your self-empowerment and personal responsibility should be encouraged at each step of the transition.

CC#2 Recovery Coaches should never tell you what to do. They should only provide you with options, opinions, examples...and then set you free to make your own choices.

3. Recovery Coaches strive for professional responsibility, but they do have lives that take higher priority (families, jobs). One of the biggest differences between traditional therapy and coaching is that we recognize that what we do should never be a matter of life and death. That is not necessarily the case with therapy, when a client comes to rely on a particular day/time for therapy as a part of their stability. Your coaching sessions should not be thought upon as your stabilizer for living a healthy life. In general, therapy is often required to master the 'here and now'; whereas coaching is geared more towards preparing you for your future. Not that both areas don't overlap, they certainly do. Much of recovery is about applying your current knowledge to your current awareness. But the process of accumulating that knowledge will be accomplished more through progressive learning than it will immediate necessity.

Where this comes into play is when coaching sessions must be cancelled and/or postponed. Let's face it: life happens and so, during such times when you will be unable to keep your appointment as scheduled, common courtesy is expected. Let us know as soon as you possibly can. In most cases, we should be able to reschedule with at least 24hrs notice.

CC#3 Please give us at least 24 hrs notice should you need to cancel an appointment. If you are going to be late, let us know as soon as possible so that we do not cancel the appointment. For any coaching sessions that are scheduled, but that you do not attend, we will wait five minutes before officially canceling the session. Should we be unable to make a scheduled appointment and have not given you at least 24hrs notice, we will extend your coaching contract an additional week to make up for it.

If you agree to the terms of this document, click here.