Addiction Coach vs. Sponsor: What is the Difference?

There are many options when it comes to deciding how to best be supported during your journey of sobriety. Everyone agrees that having a support system is crucial to recovery and reducing the chance of relapse. The two biggest support options are an addiction recovery coach and a sponsor. A recovery coach works with each person individually to help formulate an approach that best serves the client. While a sponsor is specifically tied to a traditional 12-step program to help guide you through the steps.

A sponsor is generally associated with the traditional 12-step program. You might know them as AA (alcoholic’s anonymous) or NA (narcotic’s anonymous). However there are currently many 12-step programs around addiction for issues such as gambling, sex, overeating, workaholics, and nicotine among others. Each member must obtain a sponsor to help guide them through the 12-step program. The sponsor helps to keep the sponsee accountable and is a support when needed. They are strictly to be used in accordance with the 12-step program.

An addiction recovery coach is able to guide individuals through various aspects of their recovery which branch out to many aspect of recovery. Adhering to a 12-step program is not a requirement of working with a recovery coach. The coach works with each individual to help identify what they need most and how to reach goals associated with their recovery. Coaches utilize an array of tools to help clients including education, self-care, accountability, personal development, and weekly goal setting.

Any 12-step program that you attend is free. The organization hosts local meetings as well as online meetings. The program is divided into 12-steps and is accompanied with educational books or pamphlets. Which means that a sponsor for this program is also free. While everyone loves free things, it’s usually the free things that are squandered the fastest. There is no real obligation, or investment to keep someone accountable. People are less likely to maintain programs if they are not required to make some sort of investment. Many studies have shown that 12-step programs only have a success rate of up to 10%. As sponsors are a part of the 12-step program they require that you follow the program and progress through the steps. There is no room for any methods outside of the set program. So in order for this to be an option, you should know what the steps are, be willing to follow them, and also be willing to live in accordance with them in order to maintain sobriety.

An addiction recovery coach is not free. Some take insurance but not all of them will. The great thing about this is that any financial investment toward sobriety actually helps to ensure that there is accountability. You are more likely to show up and do the work if you have already paid for the sessions. The approach to sobriety is also very different with a recovery coach. It is personalized and flexible. There are no forced ideologies or mandated steps to follow. A coach will require active participation just as a sponsor but they work with you and offer guidance according to what each person needs the most.

We are all different and each person requires different elements for their journey of sobriety. Figure out what works best for you. If you tried something in the past that worked, then go back to it. If you are looking for something different, then actively seek out a different approach. The only bad approach to sobriety is one that is not actively moving you in a progressive direction.