How to Become a Professional Recovery Coach in Michigan

Have you gone through addiction and want to help people bounce back from this disease?

Well, a professional recovery coach might be the right career for you!

With just a little training, you can find a job with an addiction treatment center or even start a new business in peer support.

Here’s what you need to do if you live in Michigan and find this career interesting.

Steps to Become a Professional Recovery Coach in Michigan

Becoming a Michigan professional recovery coach requires taking a few simple steps that can help you transition into this field.

Following the steps below should help you get on the right path toward certification and ensure that you start your career as quickly as possible.

Step One: Complete Your High School Training

Are you still in high school?

Well, you need to be at least 18 and have a high school degree to start a career in this field.

What if you dropped out of high school?

You can earn a GED instead.

This degree is equivalent to a high school diploma and lets you start your training as soon as you want.

In this way, it’s an essential step for earning your certification.

Step Two: Meet Basic Certification Guidelines

Once you’ve finished your high school degree, it’s important to meet a few standards for receiving your certification training in Michigan.

First, you must be at least 18 years old and have a job working at least 10 hours a week with a licensed Substance Use Disorder Treatment Organization, Community Mental Health Services Program, or a similar group.

You must also have received publicly-funded addiction treatment services and have two continuous years of recovery without using.

Then, you must be willing to share your recovery story and have a diagnosis of a substance use disorder.

You’ll then need to do some basic training with various state officials to qualify for the certification exam.

Note:

you also need two letters of reference to begin.

Step Three: Attend In-Person Training

Once you complete your application to become a certified peer recovery coach, you will attend five training days.

During your training, you’ll learn how to provide hands-on recovery support, including help for people with severe addiction problems.

These courses will help train you for the unique demands of this profession and ensure you can provide the help people need to recover.

During your training, you’ll also actively participate in discussions and role-playing games.

What are role-playing games?

They let you interact with people in recovery to better understand their life and their current situation.

Though they might seem simple at first, they’re a powerful way to improve your career and get a better understanding of what this job requires of you.

After you complete your five-day training, you can take the certification exam.

This test studies everything you learned during your course.

Don’t panic!

It typically covers things that you should easily know if you actively participated and took notes during your training.

After finishing the test, you complete a peer-to-peer phone interview to learn more about potential job options in your area.

Step Four: Look for Jobs

Now, you can start applying for jobs at addiction treatment centers and hospitals in Michigan. Your certification is good for the state, so you shouldn’t be able to get jobs outside of it. If you want to work elsewhere, you’ll need to finish that state’s certification program.

Schools in Michigan

While Michigan doesn’t offer a college program for professional recovery counselors, there are a few training programs that you can consider.

These give you the hands-on experience that you need to meet your training requirements and get certified in this rapidly growing field.

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan’s veteran support program provides peer support training that can help military members support each other through recovery.

This program includes certification and support through the VA peer support mentoring program.

It’s designed specifically for veterans who have gone through addiction and who need help.

MAADAC

The Michigan Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (MAADAC) provides training support for multiple career paths, including adolescent, adult, senior, women, and veteran recovery support.

These programs help you earn the appropriate certification for your job and can make it easier to transition to a full-time position.

Recovery Coach Representative Schools in Michigan – Summary Table

Salary

A Michigan recovery coach will make about $34,005 on average every year.

That compares favorably to the national average, which is about $34,337.

Higher-earning recovery coaches can make around $38,404 nationally and $38,089 on average in Michigan.

As a result, counselors in this state can feel comfortable earning a competitive wage.

Regional Salary in Michigan