Recovery Coach/Guides

: The functions of a recovery guide or coach could be conceptualized as an ongoing recovery support service as well as a vehicle through which outreach and engagement services can be provided (see below). Given its centrality in a recovery-oriented system of care, however, we consider the role of the recovery coach or guide to deserve its own separate discussion. The model of the guide or coach is proposed as a recovery-oriented alternative to case management, with or without a clinical component.

This guide helps identify and remove obstacles to recovery, connects the person to community life, and serves as a mentor in the management of the person's condition and his or her life. This role also may involve supporting the person's efforts to participate in the naturally occurring community activities of his or her choice, at first perhaps accompanying the person, with a longer term goal of enabling the person to decrease his or her reliance on care providers through the development of positive relationships with community members.

Table of Common Characteristics