Coaching and recovery : an exploration of coaching employed professionals in recovery from alcohol misuse

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Recovery coaching is described as one service within a group known as non-clinical recoverysupport services. Its purpose is the pursuit of recovery from substance dependency, and takes adevelopmental, individualistic view on what recovery means. However, little is known about theperspectives and processes employed by recovery coaches in pursuit of that goal. The aim of theresearch was to address the following question: What can we learn about coaching throughexploring the experiences of coaches working with employed professionals in recovery fromalcohol misuse?This research was a qualitative study. A narrative inquiry research methodology was chosen toexplore the experiences of recovery coaches. A purposive sampling approach was used to selectseven credentialed recovery coaches with at least a year's experience of coaching employedprofessionals in recovery from alcohol misuse. Data was collected using seven narrative interviewsthat were digitally recorded and transcribed, and the data was analysed using a specific narrativeanalysis model in order to generate the findings.The key findings revealed that recovery coaches worked in the field of recovery, not addiction.They were primarily credentialed by their skills as a coach, coupled with an understanding ofrecovery. An understanding of recovery might have come through their own recovery journey, orfrom working in the recovery support services industry. All coaches agreed that recovery was adevelopmental journey grounded in the assets, resources and choices of the individual who soughtcoaching for recovery. However, it was found that the deployment of coaching models, and theeffective use of coaching skills and techniques were the foundation of a recovery coaching service.These core coaching competencies, suggestive of the need for professional training, wereconcerned with relationship building between coach and client, managing relationships with clientsand interested parties, and adopting a forward-focused client-centric approach in which the clientsets the agenda. It was found that this approach was well received by professionals who camefrom an organisational background and who identified with its forward-focused and goal-centredapproach. In this respect, the purpose of recovery coaching was recovery by any means throughthe effective use of an appropriate coaching process. Recovery coaches identified their work asonly one of a multi-disciplinary set of recovery support services.These findings were limited by the lack of a prolonged engagement with each coach, and the factthat the author was the researcher, the interviewer, a credentialed recovery coach, and himself aprofessional in recovery. The results might be useful to other coaches, to other recovery supportservices, and to business leaders and managers. The findings position recovery coaching as avaluable service within non-clinical recovery support services, and may be of particular interest toemployed professionals who seek recovery.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University