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:Average Salary of Professional Recovery Coachs in New York
| City Name | Salary |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Regional Salary in New York
| Region | Employed | Avg. Annual Salary | Avg. Hourly Pay | Top 10% Annual Salary | Bottom 10% Annual Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 910 | $54,840 | - NA - | $84,410 | $31,440 |
| Binghamton, NY | 130 | $60,960 | - NA - | $101,040 | $30,370 |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY | 840 | $58,560 | - NA - | $96,500 | $30,240 |
| Glens Falls, NY | 40 | $55,320 | - NA - | $91,310 | $30,790 |
| Ithaca, NY | 130 | $51,800 | - NA - | $82,350 | $29,540 |
| Kingston, NY | 50 | $58,510 | - NA - | $96,040 | $36,730 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 13,310 | $71,800 | - NA - | $110,730 | $34,850 |
| Rochester, NY | 1,020 | $52,520 | - NA - | $79,650 | $31,790 |
| Syracuse, NY | 510 | $60,770 | - NA - | $100,310 | $30,470 |
| Utica-Rome, NY | 230 | $49,290 | - NA - | $66,150 | $30,060 |
* 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.
