Recovery Coaching through Executive Functions

When an adult child is ready to move out of recovery and cross the bridge into independent living, it’s a time to celebrate.

But it’s not a time to stop providing support. They still need help navigating work, college, transportation, budgeting, maintaining sobriety or adapting to new social situations.

Learning to mainstream after recovery can be overwhelming and stressful. This is especially true for people struggling with Executive Functions or secondary mental health issues. These are barriers that interfere with a person’s ability to begin and complete tasks, break larger goals into smaller steps, and sustain focus.

This is where my coaching services will help. Together, your young adult and I will create a personal budget, plan meals and an exercise schedule, enroll in college, find a tutor or apply for a driver’s license. I can address a variety of tasks or Life Skills — large or small — they need to succeed.

By meeting with clients in their space, in the community or remotely, I’m able to help them explore and practice these skills as they adjust to living on their own.

Addiction and the Brain

As a person’s brain recovers from the effects of drug and alcohol addiction, their ability to implement in Executive Functions is impaired.

It takes time, consistency and repetition to learn new strategies and habits to manage all the demands of modern life. It can be overwhelming and frustrating, especially if you are adjusting to limitations that did not exist before treatment.

My Services

My one-on-one coaching identifies and encourages new behavior while creating personalized solutions. I start by meeting with each individual at their current ability level and then provide step-by-step support and guidance.

Working as a team with parents, therapists, and other significant individuals, gives the young adult a cohesive and healthy way to build life skills at their own pace.

Relapse is Part of Addiction

Learning how to manage challenges or setbacks is vital to sobriety and personal success. Many individuals relapse when overwhelmed, isolated, or bored.

When a client’s behavior changes and they begin to skip work, avoid AA meetings, stop medication, miss doctor or therapy appointments or show other isolating behaviors, it is crucial to address what is happening immediately. During weekly coaching sessions, I can detect these unusual behaviors and encourage clients to get support before relapsing.

Creating a reliable support system allows clients who do relapse to identify and learn from their behavior and get back on track sooner.

Working with Recovery & Sober Living Centers

It’s best if I can meet with clients before they are discharged from recovery or sober living centers. This allows me to build trust while supporting behavior that is already working. I can help a client maintain existing responsibilities such as attending AA meetings, aftercare, drug testing, therapy, medication, sober community activities and family expectations, allowing them to feel more confident and prepared.

Common barriers:

Executive Functions & Organizational Skills
Time Management
Failure to Launch (Adulting) / Life Skills
Isolation and feeling disconnected from others
Returning to work or school
Living alone / roommates / parents
Managing medication, doctor and therapy appointments
Drug testing, AA meetings, aftercare and sponsor
Rebuilding positive social connections with family, friends & community
Budgeting
Sleep / Exercise / Eating Healthy
Social Skills

Solutions:

Identifying and solving problems with a client allows them an opportunity to implement new strategies and techniques that will keep future problems and challenges from escalating.

By focusing on what is working and processing what isn’t, clients learn how to slow down and work through overwhelming situations rather than return to self-defeating behavior.

If you think my coaching and Executive Functions services are a good fit, please contact me.

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“Jamie’s ability to help clients find personal drive around problem solving skills has been fantastic. This has helped the client buy in to the process rather than approach their life like a checklist where they just check the boxes. She approaches every facet of our clients responsibilities and environment to help create balance, consistency, and transparency with their support team. Jamie truly cares about the quality of life for those she works with and her willingness to work down in the trenches shows her value to us and the client.”
-Tony Padjen | Executive Director, Partner | EVNSQ | Balance House | The Bloc Outpatient | Beta (Recovery)

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“Patrick struggled with organizing, prioritization and follow through, which are all critical to his recovery and the goal of an independent life.

We found Jamie to be very nurturing, but she was also a practical help in relation to our son’s unique needs. She worked weekly and sometimes more often as needed, to help him focus and learn the ongoing organizational and executive functioning skills he needed to acquire.

We would highly recommend Jamie’s executive functioning counseling as a critical success support factor in the transition of your loved one’s recovery process.”
-Jim and Susan Travers

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“Jamie is smart, articulate and caring. She communicates with us when there is an issue and is always willing to give us the time to discuss any topic. It gives us piece of mind to know Jamie will alert us if anything goes wrong and is helping him regain his confidence and footing in the world.”
-K.R.

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“She has helped to maintain ongoing weekly structure and accountability, since we live out of state. It is comforting to know that she keeps on eye on him as he transitions to living on his own and is no longer supported by the sober living community.

Jamie has established a bond with our son. She sets clear boundaries and expectations. My son summed up Jamie when he said, “She helps me do things I never thought I could do!” We are so thankful to have Jamie’s support.”
-J.Z.

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“I really needed someone to stick by me and to offer me what you’d offered me. Otherwise I’m not sure if I’d have been able to hold on.

Now more than a year later, I’m able to proudly say that I’ve been sober since May 25th of last year. Even though we haven’t been in touch since around that time, I attribute a large amount of my success in recovery to the loving kindness from others that you showed me was possible.”
-Scott