Coaching for Co-occurring Disorders
Life Coaching?
Recovery Coaching?
Therapy?
Resolving co-occurring (dual-diagnosis) disorders with a certified life-recovery coach (with therapist credentials).
SYMBIOTIC ADVERSARIES
Have you ever tried hammering a nail into the wall using an apple. If not, trust me, it doesn’t work very well. It is a simple case of trying to accomplish a task using the wrong tool. The same could be said about a person trying to get sober from drug or alcohol addiction while simultaneously afflicted with a mental illness like clinical depression or bipolar disorder. Achieving quality, long-term recovery (without a mental illness) is a feat in itself. Doing so with an unresolved, underlying co-occurring disorder is in most cases, one way or another, a dead-end road.
Common Mental Illnesses Within Dual-Diagnosis:
As a life coach that has been immersed within all facets of mental health treatment, substance abuse & addiction recovery for over 20 years, experience shows there to be several mental illnesses most common among those with co-occurring disorders:
- Depression
- Anxiety Disorders
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Bipolar Disorder
- Personality Disorders
- Schizophrenia – Unfortunately, I am not able nor equipped to provide life coaching/recovery coaching services to those with schizophrenia as a co-occurring disorder.
Navigating the complexities of life when faced with the unbridled force of mental illness and substance abuse together.
According the The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration nearly 9 million Americans are afflicted with a co-occurring disorder consisting of a mental illness and drug or alcohol addiction at one time.
Living with co-occurring disorders is, without question, a complex and challenging journey. These individuals face the dual task of managing a mental health condition alongside substance abuse or addiction. The path to recovery when dealing with dual-diagnosis often requires a multifaceted approach, and this is where life coaches and recovery coaches can play a pivotal role.
The interplay between both conditions creates a cycle that is difficult to break, as each disorder can exacerbate the symptoms of the other. Each illness perpetuates the other, and generally speaking, it is the addiction that gets most treatment focus since it is usually the one creating the most external damage.
Initially, those with serious addictions and a co-occurring mental illness (most commonly, depression, anxiety, PTSD. or bipolar disorder) usually require more than a life coach or recovery coach, at the very start, in order to begin the recovery process. In most cases, PARADIGM coaching clients with co-occurring disorders will have gone through at least 30 days in treatment. Likewise, they should already be stable and either on a medication regimen or engaged in some other advanced therapy like TMS, ketamine, etc.
PARADIGM Life Coaching: “Effective and custom tailored solutions for those with co-occurring (dual-diagnosis) disorders.”
Why is PARADIGM different? This isn’t just coaching, this is “Therapeutic Life Coaching.” Whether you are seeking a life coach or a recovery coach (also referred to as a sober coach), finding one with over 20 years experience as a licensed therapist is quite rare. And that is why our ability to help a client often extends beyond what other traditional approaches can offer. We have the clinical expertise to examine the client’s past, which is where the therapist traditionally excels in, while having the expertise to help map out and guide the client throughout future points in time, which is where the skills and experience of a life coach come into play. Together, they offer a powerful combination that is rarely seen.
In the case of dual-diagnosis clients specifically, the most common (and effective) scenario we have seen is a sort of tag-team approach, whereas, while we’re working with the client on a life and recovery coaching level anywhere from 1, 2, 3 or more times per week, they are simultaneously seeing a psychiatrist regularly for medication management..
PARADIGM is here to help! Whether mental illness is a standalone condition or co-occurring with something else, our owner, Alexandra Birenbaum, MA, CAP, CSAT & Certified Life Coach, can absolutely help. She holds a masters degree and is a Certified Addictions Professional. She is also a CSAT Therapist and of course a Certified Life Coach from CTA and a member of ICF.
Live greatly while having a mental illness
Suffering from a mental illness is no longer the big elephant in the room. Society not only accepts the broad existence of mental illness, but now encourages people to address it. I promise you this: “There are definitely people in your life who come across as stable and strong in so many ways, yet some are in therapy, some take medication, and some do both.”
