Reaching out

Recovery Coaching to Help You Cut Back, Quit, or Rebuild After Alcohol or Drug Use

Whether you’re exploring sobriety, trying to stop, or unsure what’s right for you — we’ll walk with you, with real support and zero judgment.

Is it time for a change?

You’re frequently telling yourself you’ve got to get your life together after a night out drinking or using drugs. Your friends, family and employer would probably agree.

The booze or drugs that once provided comfort are now turning on you. What once brought relief is now bringing dread and self criticism.

You see your life direction, and you’re not happy with where it’s going. Or perhaps, you have been trying to quit for some time, with limited, or no success. We’ve been there, and we can help.

Or maybe you’ve been sober for a while, you’ve just left a treatment centre, hospital or jail, and aren’t sure how to keep the sobriety you’ve managed.

Maybe continued relapses continue to dog you, despite your best efforts. Something is missing, and you can’t quite figure out what that is.

In any of these cases, we have been here, and we can help.

Unsure if you have a problem?

Take our self-assessment for alcohol or drug use. It can help clarify.

Self Assessment Alcohol

Self Assessment Drug Use

What is a Recovery Coach?

Recovery coaching is a strengths-based approach to changing your relationship to alcohol or drugs by identifying your best path forward.

When you hire us as your Recovery Coach, we help you design, discover, and reach your goals by eliminating barriers and addictive behaviours. Our confidential partnership makes the road to recovery deep, meaningful and long lasting. The typical result is an earlier entry into recovery, and greater prevention against relapse.

As highly trained and Canadian Certified Recovery Coaches and Recovery Coach Professionals, we can help you create a plan that makes the most sense for you.

You are met without judgment, and we aren’t here to “fix” you. We are here to walk beside you, discreetly, on the path of your own brand of recovery, whatever that looks like for you. That could be Alcoholics Anonymous, SMART Recovery, Refuge Recovery, Lifering, SHE RECOVERS or a whole host of other possibilities. We help you summon your own internal resources, cultivating a greater capacity for living a better life.

Your life. Your plan. On your own terms.

Our Services

Our male and female Recovery Coaches offer services based on intake availability and level of need. While our services are tailored to each individual, they generally include:

Support specifically crafted and scheduled based on the client’s unique needs. This could be once a week or two, depending on what the feels right to the client.
Our aim is to help our clients establish self-determination — to get them to a place where they no longer need us.

Recovery Coaching FAQ

What Is Recovery Coaching?

Here’s a clear, compassionate guide to how Recovery Coaching works, who it helps, and what to expect—whether you're in early sobriety, post-treatment, or just exploring.

A recovery coach is a trusted support—someone who walks beside you as you move through the hard, hopeful work of recovery.
They’re not here to fix or judge. They’re here to listen, guide, and help you build a life that feels worth staying for.
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.
A recovery coach and a sponsor are vastly different in several ways.
A sponsor guides people through the 12-step programs such as AA, NA, GA, etc.
A recovery coach works within several pathways, which may or may not include the 12-step groups.
A recovery coach helps people build recovery capital, those critical underpinnings of good recovery foundation.
Many recovery coaches are sponsors within 12-step groups, but do not perform sponsorship duties while coaching.
Therapists look into your past to determine the causes of your struggles and associated behaviours.
Done well, this is an important part of establishing a stronger sense of wellbeing.
Conversely, a recovery coach helps you focus on the present and the vast potential of your future.
A good coach helps you identify your goals and any barriers that might be in the way.
People who work with recovery coaches tend to enter recovery sooner and stay longer. Recovery may mean complete abstinence or cutting down so intake reduces to a subclinical level.
A well-trained and accredited recovery coach meets you where you are, helping you reach the goals that have meaning for you.
Importantly, a recovery coach helps illuminate the barriers to those goals, which often includes substance use or behavioural addictions.
Not at all.
You don’t have to be sober to work with a recovery coach. You just have to want support.
Whether you’re exploring sobriety, cutting back, or starting over, or even just taking a break—your coach is here to walk with you, not push you.

Working With a Coach

Every session is a conversation—but not the kind where someone talks at you.
It’s a space that’s honest, supportive, and focused on what matters to you. Some days you’ll set goals or make a plan. Other days, you might unpack what’s getting in the way—or just talk things out and be heard. That’s all part of the process.
Here’s what might happen in a typical session:
- You talk about what’s working—and what’s not.
- You explore what you want, what’s next, or what’s possible.
- You get support in building routines, boundaries, or a plan that fits your life.
- You vent, laugh, cry, reflect—or stay quiet for a while. That’s okay too.
Your coach is there to listen, reflect, and walk with you. You set the pace. You choose the direction.
There’s no pressure to perform or “do it right.” Just a safe space to be real—and move forward, one step at a time.
It depends on your needs.
Some people start with weekly sessions, others check in more often early on. Your coach will work with you to find a rhythm that feels right.
Yes.
You don’t need to have it all figured out.
A coach will never shame or pressure you—they’ll simply support you in getting clear on what you want and how to get there, one step at a time.
Absolutely.
Relapse is part of many people’s journey, and your coach will still be there.
There’s no “failing” in recovery coaching—just learning, adjusting, and trying again.
Definitely.
Many people find recovery coaching most helpful after treatment, when structure fades and life feels overwhelming again.
Others work with a coach years into recovery, as they grow and evolve.

For Those Who are Just Starting out

Yes.
You don’t need to be “ready.” You just need to be curious.
We’ll meet you wherever you are—even if all you have are questions.
Absolutely.
You don’t have to commit to anything big.
A coach can help you explore your relationship with substances and make changes at your own pace.
Yes.
That’s actually one of the most important things a coach does—sit with you in the “I don’t know” and help you build a path forward.
You don’t need a plan. You just need a first step. We’ll help you find it.

Words of encouragement

Testimonials

“I’ve been trying to stay away from alcohol my own (constantly failing) since 2017 when I lost my wife .
Last March 30th 2023 I relapsed big time and had an incident that made me feel determined, and gave me the courage to look for a professional help.
In the next week I called Kevin Diakiw at Still Here.
On our first meeting I felt comfortable as he did not over-promise me results but helped me establish goals with realistic timeline.
Kevin pointed me towards some tools and provides me some solid options along with building my own accountability.
I called/texted Kevin in difficult moments , he was always there to guide me, encouraged me to step up, make good decisions and do the work!
My recovery coach Kevin is being an enormous help on planning each step, and has moved me forward not just in my recovery but in other important parts of my life.
Today my life is blessed and I’m at 1 year of complete abstinence as of April 2024.
Sincerely thank you Kevin. ”

— Leo L, North Vancouver

“Having tried multiple approaches and more day ones than I care to count, I was pleasantly surprised with the progress and outcome that I achieved working with Kevin. His combination of patience, wisdom and calm demeanor were instrumental in working with me to explore the various tools that exist to come up with my brand of sobriety. I am eternally grateful.”

— David D

“I felt a major connection the first time I spoke with Kevin. The next 5 months spent with him taught me many ways to cope with the struggles of everyday life. It’s nice talking to someone who’s been through it and doesn’t judge. I suggest Kevin and Still Here to many friends and will continue to do so. Thanks for being you, Kevin.”

— Tyler C.

“Thank you for everything you have been, and are, to me Kevin… The streetlight on a sometimes-dark corner… It’s been very meaningful for me to have that level of trust in a man, other than my father. It is, and has been, an honour having you in my life.”

— E.H.

“The fact that you are reading this review shows me that you are curious to know about Shelly. Let me start by saying that she is a beautiful person with joy that makes you wonder where is my joy. And, she is amazing enough to get you to your joy, given you are courageous enough to believe that you deserve it. She is as effective as you putting in the work. I’d recommend her to anyone who really wants a/to change and is seeking a caring and encouraging coach”

— A happy anonymous coachee