How to Become a Professional Recovery Coach in New York

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Suppose you understand the struggle to overcome addiction and mental health issues through personal experience, formal study, or work experience, and you feel you have the skills to help.

A career as a professional recovery coach can be a great way into the medical field with a minimum educational or time barrier.

The greatest asset is your emotional intelligence, organizational skills, desire to connect, and interpersonal communication abilities.

As a trained professional recovery coach, your mission is to support the individual clients working on their recovery, wellness, and sobriety journey.

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What is a Recovery Coach?

A recovery coach, as defined by the New York Board of Certification, is anyone wishing to promote recovery from addiction by connecting clients with recovery support services engineered to support each individual’s recovery options and helping remove barriers to recovery.

Professional recovery coaches focus on knowledge, tasks, and skills to provide a helpful structure for individuals working toward recovery.

A Vocation as a Professional Recovery Coach in New York

Express Your Unique Vision of Sobriety as a Recovery Coach.

Each recovery coach can utilize their lived experience to bring a personal touch to the recovery culture.

Imagine leading one-on-one or group counseling sessions, helping clients find detox resources, and teaching basic hygiene and living skills such as cooking and budgeting.

Plus, modeling and supporting sober living principles.

Skills

  • Interpersonal communication abilities
  • Collaborative skills
  • Organization and research knowledge
  • Active listening, compassion, and empathy
  • Problem-solving chops and diplomacy

The Role a Recovery Coach in New York Plays

Recovery coaches play an important role in helping clients break the cycle of addiction.

As a trained professional, a recovery coach can aid a member’s recovery by assisting them in building and fostering a sense of self-worth.

They also help them develop healthier habits and stability.

A recovery coach aids in providing advocacy, mentoring, and recovery support services to those who seek lasting recovery.

Once certified, a recovery coach should be able to:

  • Help individuals with stopping substance/alcohol abuse and other harmful addictions.
  • Aid clients recovering from addiction and substance abuse or offer family support to those close to them.
  • Support your clients in recovery by setting up and completing their recovery goals.
  • Help clients begin their journey and applaud those fully on their recovery journey by finding various services to support them, including harm reduction, detox treatment, education, and family support.
  • Help individuals by observing and supporting them as they work to overcome obstacles.

Certification Requirements for New York Recovery Coaches

There are three types of certification recovery coaches in New York.

CRPA-Provisional

  • At least 18 years of age or older
  • High school diploma or GED

The Certified Addiction Recovery Coach (CARC)

  • Ten hours of approved electives
  • Passing grade on the recovery coach exam
  • 60 hours of training specific to the recovery coaching domain
  • Professional signature on the NYCB code of conduct and ethics

How to Become a CRPA in New York

You need 46 hours of training through ASAP-NYCB-approved courses to make your goal of being a professional recovery coach in New York.

This training is required and divided into two parts: the CCAR Recovery coach academy (30 hours) and Peer Ethics (16 hours).

After successfully taking the training, you can apply for CRPA provisional if you meet the age and educational requirements.

The great thing about the CRPA provisional is that any CRPA certification holder is eligible for peer role employment in Medicaid-sponsored jobs across New York State.

The certification’s time-sensitive and expires within 24 months; the provisional certification is non-renewable and can’t be extended–so don’t ask, okay.

You don’t need to work in the field at the time of application to be eligible, and you’re not required to build the peer role recovery process necessary for the full CRPA.

And if you have 500 hours of peer advocacy experience, you can bypass provisional stats and apply for a full CRPA.

Certifications earned after successfully completing your ASAP-NYCB exam.

Salary

Professional recovery coaches in New York can expect to earn between $35,000-$45,000 annually, with the average wage coming in yearly at $40,000.

Annual Salary Range:
$32K
$36K
$41K

Average Salary of Professional Recovery Coachs in New York

City NameSalary
New York$40,436
Buffalo$33,599
Rochester$33,925
Yonkers$39,667
Syracuse$34,226
Albany$34,923
New Rochelle$39,238
Mount Vernon$39,650
Schenectady$34,838
Utica$33,505
* Salary information last updated 2024

Regional Salary in New York

RegionEmployedAvg. Annual SalaryAvg. Hourly PayTop 10% Annual SalaryBottom 10% Annual Salary
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY910$54,840- NA -$84,410$31,440
Binghamton, NY130$60,960- NA -$101,040$30,370
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY840$58,560- NA -$96,500$30,240
Glens Falls, NY40$55,320- NA -$91,310$30,790
Ithaca, NY130$51,800- NA -$82,350$29,540
Kingston, NY50$58,510- NA -$96,040$36,730
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA13,310$71,800- NA -$110,730$34,850
Rochester, NY1,020$52,520- NA -$79,650$31,790
Syracuse, NY510$60,770- NA -$100,310$30,470
Utica-Rome, NY230$49,290- NA -$66,150$30,060
* Salary information based on the May 2023 Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Survey for Coaches and Scouts, OCC Code 27-2022, BLS.
* Employment conditions in your area may vary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Recovery Coach Certification in New York automatically renewable?

Nope.

But the process to renew your recovery coach certification is pretty straightforward.

You have to take additional training approved by ASAP-NYCB classes, workshops, and presentations.

Then, submit your completed application via Certemy, the digital platform.

Is there a fee to renew my certification?

Yes, the renewal fee is:

  • CARC/CRPA: $100
  • CARC & CRPA: $150
  • CRPA family: $50
  • Veteran-supported recovery: $50

Do I need a college degree to be a professional recovery coach?

The minimum educational requirement in New York to become a recovery coach is a high school diploma or equivalency.

That said, education is a good thing. It can help you get your first job, and it can help you as you grow professionally.

In the New York area, is the role of recovery coach a solid job prospect?

Definitly.

The trend is for growing resources allocated for drug and alcohol substance abuse prevention/wellness programs over the next ten years at a rate well over the average career marketplace projections.

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