There is a long history of peer-based recovery support services within the alcohol and other drug problems arena, and the opening of the twenty-first century is witnessing a rebirth of such services These services are embedded in new social institutions such as recovery advocacy organizations and recovery support centers and in paid and volunteer service roles.
These peer-based recovery support roles go by various titles: recovery coaches, recovery mentors, personal recovery assistants, recovery support specialists, and peer specialists. Complex ethical and legal issues are arising within the performance of these roles, issues for which little guidance can be found within the existing literature. The twin purposes of this training are:

to train participants (providing peer-based recovery support services) to identify ethical issues arising within the Peer Recovery Support service arena, and
to offer guidance on how these issues can best be handled.

This training will provide the opportunity for participants to:
• define the core responsibility of the peer recovery support specialist (here referred to generically as recovery coach);
• provide an opening discussion of key ethical concepts;
• outline a model of ethical decision making that can be used by recovery coaches and by their supervisors.
• discuss vignettes of ethical situations that can arise for recovery coaches related to personal conduct, conduct in service relationships, conduct in relationships with local service professionals and agencies, and conduct in service relationships with the larger community; and
• provide a sample statement of ethical principles and guidelines for recovery coaches.

This training also identifies the extent to which current laws governing roles in addiction treatment (e.g., confidentiality, duty to warn, personal/organizational liability) are applicable to recovery coaches and their organizations.

We have two intended audiences for these trainings: individuals who are in positions of responsibility for the planning, implementation, and supervision of peer-based recovery support services and individuals who are working in either paid or volunteer roles as recovery coaches. This 2-day course is designed to be adapted for use in the training of recovery coaches and their supervisors.

FYI–Recovery support services, as the term is used here, refers to non-clinical services that are designed to help initiate and sustain individual/family recovery from severe alcohol and other drug problems and to enhance the quality of individual/family recovery.

Ethical Guidelines for Peer-based Recovery Services (16-Hours)