What Price do you Put on Sobriety Sober Coaches cost  alt=

If you have relapsed after rehab more than once, and do not know where to turn, Sober Coaches are available to stay by you 24/7 to ensure you maintain sobriety. Only catch – they cost at least $1,000 per day!

Lindsay Lohan, Owen Wilson, and Matthew Perry have all hired a sobriety coach at one point or another during their Hollywood careers in an effort to stay clean and sober. A recent article by TheFix.com, showed that it’s not just celebrities hiring these coaches, but affluent housewives, mothers, Wall Street brokers – anyone who is suffering from addiction and has the means to spend $1000 USD (or more) per day for someone to follow them around and keep the bottle (or pipe, syringe, etc.) out of their hands.

Doug Caine, founder of Sober Champion, however, makes it clear in an interview on foxbusiness.com that his job is not an easy one. A recovering addict himself, Caine works only with clients who have relapsed at least three times post-treatment. His clients are very niche, and he considers himself a ‘boutique guy’, offering clients ‘personalised, intense coaching therapy’ that can last anywhere from 28 to 60 days on average with a wide variety of clients. Caine says most of his clients seek out help themselves, but he has been approached on a few occasions by bosses – usually on Wall Street – who have wished to hire Caine for an employee that was in dire need of help with an addiction problem.

Patty Powers, a New York City based sober coach who has appeared on the A&E show Relapse, says that the type of clients she works with also vary widely. From clients who simply cannot fathom the idea of attending another rehab facility, to people who are just returning home from rehab and need some help transitioning, to clients in the entertainment industry who are required to have a sober coach by contract – or else they’ll lose their jobs.

Both coaches remain adamant that they are not just highly paid babysitters. Each client is put through a personalised treatment programme, although as of yet there are no standardised regulations in place for this type of profession, and so each coach uses their own personal methods.

They do, however, often spend every waking moment of the day with their client – accompanying them to the grocery store (so they don’t pick up that bottle of wine on the way out), to social events (where they are often introduced as a college friend or even a life coach or guru) to workplaces or movie sets, and even Sunday night dinner with the family.

Unfortunately, however, it is easy for the client to become attached to their coach – in much the same way that they were addicted to drugs or alcohol. It lies in the coach’s hands, then, to maintain appropriate boundaries and a degree of separation from their client. But because there are no government regulations in this business as of yet – and not even any specific type of education needed – there are many people out there looking to take advantage of those in need.  They promote themselves as coaches but do not know have the skills – and this could lead down a troubled path for both coach and client.

If you or someone you know have been to inpatient and outpatient facilities in the past with no success, and the thought of a sober coach sounds appealing, be sure to do some research. The best advice would be to talk to a trusted addictions counsellor or therapist and get a recommendation for a coach who has proven success in the past.

Most sober coaches will encourage you to continue with other methods of treatment (meetings, support groups, counselling, etc.) while being coached personally at the same time and will often work hand-in-hand with a registered therapist or psychologist since they often have no formal training or education in that background. That being said, it should be apparent that hiring an (expensive) sober coach is not an easier way to get sober. They could have a place in your recovery, however, if you have failed at rehab before and need a helping hand to navigate that last step of the journey that you have been unable to do on your own.

If you’re having a problem with addiction, it’s always best to speak to a specialist before making any final decisions on treatment to ensure you get the best type of care for your personal situation.

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