Recovery Orientation matters.
It refers to a set of principles that, when integrated into individual practitioner practice, can make a huge difference to the people the practitioner is helping. Recovery orientation significantly overlaps Recovery & Wellness Coaching Principles.
Recovery Orientation is applicable across almost all human suffering and change situations where clients seek to navigate away from issues that are causing them distress.
Aligning you practice with Recovery Orientation and integrating a clear Definition of Recovery is a recommended best practice for working with people in recovery.
Read on to find out what being Recovery Orientated means and how it helps you in your practice.
Recovery Orientation is split into two parts:
What you need to know
&
How you behave and what you do
First,
Let's start with what you need to know
There are four areas that coaches and other practitioners need to be familiar with if they wish to practice in a recovery orientated way and support people in their recovery journey.
What you need to know specifically depends on the particular behaviour or experience your client is trying to respond to and move through (illness, health challenge, psychological issue, lifestyle crisis and so on). We can place these specifics under the following general headings.
1
You recognise and understand the full continuum of the development of the condition or issue
Your client says they are depressed. What do you know about depression exactly? Well, if you are a trained psychologist, psychotherapist, medical doctor or similar then you probably know a sufficient amount. If you are a coach, healthcare worker, peer worker or supporter then maybe not as much. Whatever issue your client is working on will have a continuum of its own, whether it be trauma, loss or a career challenge, all of these events and experiences have their own characteristics and common features. If you are to be effective you need to know what these are.
2
You know the approaches and key factors that lead to prevention of the condition or it's recurrence
The best outcome for a health or life challenge (that isn't wanted) is one that doesn't happen at all! If it has happened then knowing the common ways that recurrence can be less likely to occur is valuable for your practice.
3
You understand how the process and the impact of the condition relates to peoples goals, choices, preferences and readiness for change.
This is practical knowledge that it is important to have. Whatever your client is tackling will impact their psychology in predictable ways. You need to know what these are.
4
You know about recovery support services, resources and systems of care appropriate for / or relevant to the condition and to the development of recovery.
Often your clients will need to access resources. You need to know what kinds of services and resources are a possible fit for them.
Second,
How you behave and what you do
It will be about how you can interpret what you know and how you behave that will determine what you can do as coach or helping practitioner.
Whether you are working with someone trying to overcome a mental health issue or substance misuse or addiction, or possibly both; or a client who has recently been through trauma such as an abusive relationship, losing a prized job or the breakdown of a relationship, the question is "how to best initiate recovery with them?" Recovery Orientation can make a huge difference to your usefulness in the recovery process.
5
You actively promote hope as a tangible vital component of recovery and wellness.
Hope allows people to believe that things can change and that there is a better life to come. It is the energy that pulls them forward. Imagine if we took hope away? How would we respond if we lived in a hope 'less' world? Would we be primed to get up and keep going even when things get difficult?
6
You understand, respect and support holistic and nonlinear approaches to recovery and wellness.
What assists a person to recover can very often be almost anything.
7
You focus on individual strengths and are person centred.
What strengths they HAVE shown in the past and can use again, what they CAN do, not what they can't. You never try to fit them into a structure or framework if it is not their choice or decision to do so. They are at the centre of the recovery path and get to choose.
8
You integrate respectful mutual aid (peer driven) where appropriate.
Clients who meet other people or peers who are going through similar things to them or have done so in the past can get great support, hope and strength from meeting these peers.
9
Through your actions, attitudes and behaviour, you engender individuals’ personal empowerment, self-direction & self-responsibility.
You are there for them. All of them is welcome, especially the parts they are ashamed of or wish to repress. You believe in their capacity for empowerment, to direct their own lives and to hold themselves accountable.
10
You are collaborative & supportive (rather than directive and coercive) in any persons recovery process at individual and community level.
You are a partner in their journey. You do not implicitly try to get them to do what you want them to do because you think it is the 'right' thing for them.
11
You actively avoid stigma, discrimination and its associated language.
Pretty clear right?
12
You understand, respect and support multiple pathways of recovery to wellness.
You do not tell your clients what the road is. You walk beside them as they find their path. You resist the urge to judge a choice as it is their choice. You realise that that recovery can take unique paths of connection and support.
13
You focus, in respect to the recovery to wellness process, on a ‘wellness’ not an ‘illness’ / medical / disease model.
You listen and watch for what IS working and what resources ARE present in a person. You focus on what is whole and NOT on what is broken or not working properly.
You focus on resourcefulness rather than resource 'less' ness.
Why Recovery Orientation matters..
When people with difficulties ask for help, a large part of the success of that help will focus on how it makes them feel about themselves.
For Clients
Recovery Orientation places people and their feelings, autonomy and capabilities at the centre of the way we interact with them. We all want to feel respected and seen as able and capable, even if at a particular moment we are coming up short on how to move ahead.
For Practitioners
A Recovery Orientated approach can quickly build trust and confidence between practitioners and clients. This in turn helps the practitioner be more effective, which boots confidence and professional development. You get to fulfil your mission of being a truly helpful person to those seeking recovery.