Life Coaching and Addiction Recovery
For those who are in addiction recovery, life can seem like an endless maze of therapy and support programs, with little joy on the horizon and little chance for positive direction. This can be particularly true for those who have been through residential treatment programs, which can leave a person feeling overwhelmed by how much their life has changed, anxious and uncertain about how to move forward.
If you are struggling with, or recovering from an addiction, life coaching can help you see beyond the horizon. Effective coaching can help you regain the confidence to work out what you want from life and how to get there. In a sense, life coaching can take the addict beyond the 12th step, exploring new options, making decisions optimistically and living a fulfilling life sober.
When we feel empowered we focus on what we can do, rather than what we can’t. It is in this state that we can bridge the gap between where we are now and where we want to be— personally and professionally. Life coaching can help you fill the hole that the addictive behavior use to occupy.
What is life coaching?
We are here to help, now.
The staff at Pacific Palms Recovery view life coaching as a way to help you achieve clarity and the confidence to work through issues that are holding you back from enjoying a challenging and harmonious life. Life coaching is not about making simplistic judgments about someone’s life and telling that person how they ought to live it. The majority of coaches set out to fix what is wrong with people. We don’t subscribe to that approach.
Our personal experiences and social science research have shown that people are the sum of their genes, their cumulative experiences and the circumstances in which they live their lives. We believe, therefore, that successful coaching is based on an understanding of all these factors and not just focus on superficial behaviors. Effective, authentic coaching is based on the following five principles:
- a shared feeling of trust and empathy between client and coach
- a relationship of equality between client and coach
- a desire on the client’s part to focus on the future, while acknowledging the effects of the past
- a willingness by the client to work through challenging issues towards empowerment, self-confidence and a happier, more productive life
- a belief in people’s ability to accept themselves and yet make changes that will improve their lives
Life Coaching and Increased Happiness
Recent research, particularly in the fields of psychology, sociology and economics, has brought to light an apparent paradox at the core of our experiences. Most people want and strive for more money, yet as Western societies have got richer, their citizens have become no happier. On the contrary, most reliable research shows us that with respect to general levels of happiness, we are becoming increasingly dissatisfied and uneasy about our lives.
We believe that life coaching can help people who are seeking to bring more happiness into their lives. And who doesn’t want to feel happier more often? It can help them understand themselves better and reach a level of self-acceptance that will enable them to make smart choices based on who they really are. Life coaching (or therapy, for that matter) should not be about trying to change people.
Working towards increase your own happiness is not a selfish, vacuous pursuit. Clearly we can give more to others when we are living a life that is most closely aligned to who we really are. In doing so, we can also give others the confidence to just be themselves and more accepting of themselves, others and the world around them.
Outpatient Services Available
