Recovery Coach Foundations

Step into a new role of purpose and impact. Rooted in connection, empathy, and hope, this course equips you with the skills, frameworks, and confidence to support others in building meaningful lives in recovery.

The Recovery Coach Foundations Course is a transformative training designed to prepare you to walk alongside people in or seeking recovery.

40 hours, over FIVE days | IN PERSON

This training is ideal for:

  • People in recovery who want to serve their community in new ways

  • Family members, allies, or supporters of recovery who want tools to help others

  • Peer support workers, frontline staff, or volunteers looking to expand their impact

  • Professionals in healthcare, counselling, or social services who want a coaching lens

  • Anyone who believes recovery is possible and wants to walk alongside others on that journey

Participants will:

  • Describe the Recovery Coach role and functions

  • Compare and contrast the roles of coaches to those of counsellors or sponsors

  • List the components, stages and many pathways of recovery

  • Develop and practice the skills of active listening and motivational interviewing

  • Discuss the purposes and risks of self-disclosure

  • Explore the influence and effects of culture, power and privilege

  • Address ethical boundary issues

  • Practice recovery wellness planning

  • Develop the knowledge to become a local resource broker

  • Describe and model design thinking

  • Practice mindful listening and implement it in recovery coaching recovery coaching

Upcoming Training Dates

Toronto, Ontario

November 17th - 21st, 2025

White Rock, BC

November 24th - 28th , 2025

RCF White Rock at the Ocean Promenade

March 23-27, 2026
June 15-19, 2026
September 14-18, 2026
November 16-20, 2026

RCF Ontario, location TBA

April 20-24, 2026
October 19-23, 2026

Some dates subject to change.
See the full training calendar on our scheduling page. Or Contact us for more information.

Four Pathways To Certification

Graduates of this course will take the first step toward four major accreditations:

1. ARCC - Accredited Recovery Coach of Canada

2. CCRC - Canadian Certified Recovery Coach

3. RCP - Recovery Coach Professional

4. SRCD - SHE RECOVERS Coach Designation

Grads will also receive 40 CEUs from the Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation and 30 CEUs from the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery.

In addition, Still Here’s Recovery Coach Training and Recovery Coach Mastery have been granted extra CEUs toward a Recovery Coach Professional designation.

Your future in recovery coaching is within reach. The choices have never been so clear.

Our Curriculum is NAADAC Approved

This course content is approved by the National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors #195293

Recovery Experience Required

While you do not need to be in recovery to take this training, if you are a person in recovery yourself, we recommend a minimum of six months of continuous recovery.

This includes having:

  • An established recovery support network

  • Intentional recovery practices in place (such as meetings, counselling, spiritual practices, peer support, etc.)

This helps ensure that participants are in a strong place personally and ready to support others in a healthy, sustainable way.

Praise for the Course

“This is an excellent program, professionally delivered and favourably priced. I attended the program in fall of 2021 and have nothing but praise for the Still Here team. This is undoubtedly the way to build national credibility for the recovery coaching network. A must for anyone looking to build a career in front-line addiction support realm.'“

—Stephen Wells MA, CCAC, CBI, PPCC - Principal, Sober Elite, Toronto, Canada

Read More Testimonials

Why This Training Stands Out

We have taken the highly respected curriculum from the Recovery Coach Academy in Hartford, Connecticut, and expanded it with an additional 10 hours of training unique to Still Here. These extra hours allow us to sharpen crucial skills that set recovery coaches apart, including:

  • Establishing and maintaining Boundaries

  • Applying Design Thinking to problem solving in recovery

  • Practicing Mindful Communication

  • Deepening Motivational Interviewing through real-world role plays and feedback

  • Developing your Purpose Statement and Intentions as a Recovery Coach

Our five-day, 40-hour in-person program is widely recognized as one of the most comprehensive and impactful recovery coach trainings available in Canada.

What This Program Delivers

This intensive training is designed to help you develop the attitudes, knowledge, and skills needed to collaboratively guide and support people along their unique pathways of recovery from addiction.

Grounded in the internationally recognized curriculum of the CCAR Recovery Coach Academy©, the Still Here program equips you to:

  • Actively listen and create safe, supportive space

  • Ask powerful, effective questions that inspire forward movement

  • Identify and manage your own internal biases and influences

  • Show up as a strong, compassionate presence in the recovery journey

What to Expect Each Day

✓Schedule

8:00am–5:00pm
Five consecutive days

✓Meals & Setting

Lunch and beverages are included each day. In White Rock, BC, the course is held at a boutique hotel on the waterfront, with easy access to ocean views and walking paths—an environment that supports reflection and connection.

✓Facilitation

Training is delivered by four professional recovery coaches and subject matter experts, each bringing unique perspectives and lived experience.

✓Learning Style

All learning styles are welcome. This is a hands-on, experiential training with a balance of instruction, pair work, small group discussions, and full-class dialogue.

✓Practice & Feedback

Role-playing and feedback are essential, especially in practicing motivational interviewing skills.

✓Personal Growth

This course is as much a personal growth journey as it is a professional training. Participants will be invited to reflect on their own biases, assumptions, and long-held beliefs about recovery.

Your Facilitators

  • Kevin Diakiw RCP-F, ARCC, CCRC

    Director, Recovery & Mindfulness Services

  • Shelley Shadow RCP-F, ARCC, CCRC

    Recovery Coach & Mindfulness Coach Trainer

  • Rochelle Davidson RCP-F, CCRC, PCC

  • Casey Hrynkow

    Design Thinking Workshop Presenter

Read Profiles

FAQ

  • The Recovery Coach Foundations course provides a solid base of knowledge, skills, and practices for recovery coaching. It emphasizes listening, motivational interviewing, ethical practices, and supporting people as they move toward their goals. You’ll learn how to hold space, ask powerful questions, and guide without directing.

    Recovery coaches are trained paraprofessionals, often with lived experience. They understand the winding, messy road of recovery because they’ve walked parts of it themselves—and they meet you wherever you are on that path.

    Whether you’re trying to get into detox, just out of treatment, or rebuilding your life months or years into sobriety, a recovery coach can help you:

    • Set and pursue meaningful goals — whatever recovery looks like for you

    • Navigate resources — from detox and rehab to therapy, housing, or support groups

    • Stay accountable — through regular, honest check-ins

    • Build everyday skills — emotional regulation, boundaries, routines, and coping tools

    Recovery coaches also play a critical role after treatment, when overdose risk is high due to lowered tolerance. They help people stay connected to their goals and supports—especially in moments of vulnerability.

    For families: A recovery coach can provide peace of mind. While they don’t offer therapy or medical treatment, they do offer structure, connection, and consistent follow-through. They're often one of the few people your loved one will allow in.

    Recovery coaching isn’t clinical. It’s relational. It’s practical. And it works best when there’s trust, honesty, and a shared commitment to change—even if it’s one small step at a time.

  • Counsellors and therapists focus on diagnosis, treatment, and therapeutic interventions. Recovery Coaches are not clinicians—we walk alongside people, focusing on their strengths, goals, and next steps. We support people in creating recovery plans and connecting with resources, while honouring their autonomy.

  • No. While many Recovery Coaches are in personal recovery, it is not a requirement. Allies, family members, and professionals can all benefit from this training. What matters most is your commitment to supporting others with dignity, respect, and compassion.

    • A strong foundation in recovery coaching practices

    • Hands-on experience through role plays, reflection, and group work

    • A deeper understanding of recovery as a process and a movement

    • Practical tools you can use immediately in your work, volunteering, or community

    • A pathway to further credentialing (e.g., Accredited Recovery Coach of Canada, CCAR certifications, CACCF recognition)

  • This training is the first step toward becoming a certified recovery coach. After completing the course, you’ll receive a certificate of completion. Depending on your pathway, additional mentoring, assessments, and credentialing steps are available.

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