Sober Coaching/Family Coaching and Support

Why Do You Need A Sober Coach?

A sober coach can be extremely valuable providing support and daily accountability for folks who struggle trying to remain clean and sober. A sober coach serves as a bridge between formal treatment programs and the more informal support groups during recovery. While rehab programs have been shown to be extremely effective in equipping those struggling with substance abuse disorders to detox and get on the road to recovery, these programs end - you can live there in the bubble forever. This is where a sober coach comes in. My very service is different. I am a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Masters Level Registered Addiction Specialist and am the highest advance level Certified Addiction Treatment Counselor IV. Many sober coach businesses have unlicensed personnel without substantial substance abuse certifications and experience yet charge similar fees. What I offer is better and more professional.

The first year after treatment is incredibly difficult and the recovering addict is very vulnerable to relapse. Most families are ill equipped to deal with the enormous strain of helping an addict reenter society successfully. Most addicts plan to leave rehab and go right back into the environment that supported their use and caused stressors in the first place. It isn't enough for most addicts to succeed.

From the moment a recovering addict leaves the treatment facility he begins the fight of his or her life. It is not uncommon for someone to leave the treatment program and head straight to the liquor store or to meet up with drug using friends. We seek to avoid that. Relapse threatens to undo all the hard work of detox, group and individual therapy, family therapy, and working the 12 steps when the individual is left to their own devices.

Most drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities are very controlled environments. Being completely segregated from one’s home environment, the recovering addict spends their days in the program shuttling from one group to another, eating at specific times the food that has been prepared for them, and spending free time in various amusements, watching TV, and socializing with fellow clients. This is not a natural environment. To leave this safe haven and re-enter the life you left behind can introduce a multitude of triggers, leading to relapse. That is where a sober coach comes in.

I provide the following services:

  • Intake and assessment of current status and needs, full review of history of use to assess level of support needed
  • Weekly one-hour therapy sessions (or counseling depending on the State the client resides in)
  • A daily connection, check in and conversation for those in recovery
  • Intensive work on self-esteem and self-confidence in remaining sober
  • A bridge to other support groups and connections to local community-based outpatient and treatment options if needed
  • Developing and implementing short and long-term personal, educational and/or career plans, goals, tracking and a daily check-in regarding acting on these
  • Accountability for complete abstinence from substances
  • Help in setting up personal, social goals and creating healthy habits
  • Exploration of how community and family can support recovery
  • Helping those in recovery build skills and coping strategies using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and other methods
  • Assessment of client's current situation and living environment including friends and contacts
  • Support in resisting sober pressure to use or be around triggers
  • Help towards doing the work of rebuilding relationships
  • Encouragement of making new sober friends to associate with and have companions for outings
  • Guidance and support through frequent in-person coaching and mentoring with the client as well as telephonic contact. This support can range from 4 hours a month to 10 hours a day
  • Support in getting to scheduled appointment and activities
  • Facilitation of regular drug testing
  • Connections to fellowship community
  • Assistance in development of independent living skills i.e.; budgeting, shopping, meal preparation
  • Support of medication management
  • Job coaching
  • Identifying job or volunteer opportunities
  • Connections to sober recreational activities
  • Weekly written report to family or the financial sponsor
  • Addiction treatment centers
  • Sober living facilities weekly interface if applicable
  • Doctors, psychiatrists, nurses, physical therapy and other medical needs monitored
  • Lawyers, Court reporting for Alternative Sentencing
  • Encouragement to improve health by exercise, sports, using a trainer if appropriate
  • Special needs service providers
  • Pharmacies
  • Transportation companies
  • Various professional services
  • (Monitoring Sober Link Alcohol Continual Testing, or other providers, on a case by case basis and possible added costS)

For the first 30-60 days it is generally advised to contract for the full services, listed above. The cost is $1,000 per day.

A la carte services may be requested covering a portion of the above for 2-4 hours a day or 20 hours per month.

Please email for details to discuss your needs and we can arrange a phone call thereafter.

A SEPARATE PROGRAM OF HELP AND SERVICES IS AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE FAMILY COACHING AND SUPPORT IF NEEDED.

Please email for details to discuss your needs and we can arrange a phone call thereafter.

Sharon Valentino, LMFT, RAS, CATC IV, e: [email protected]

Contact Me

Location

Office Hours

Monday:

9:00 am-6:00 pm

Tuesday:

9:00 am-6:00 pm

Wednesday:

9:00 am-6:00 pm

Thursday:

9:00 am-6:00 pm

Friday:

9:00 am-6:00 pm

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed