Coaching Young Adults after Treatment
Co-Authors: Guy Dumas and Joanna Lilley
The landscape of behavioral healthcare and mental healthcare is changing by the hour. Programs that are licensed through each state are being held accountable by that state. Some states are halting all out-of-state clients from enrolling, which will have a devastating impact in real-time whether or not a program will remain open.
If, or when, a treatment program that your young adult is enrolled in closes you will need to know what therapeutic resources are available. As social distancing will be a thing that will most likely be happening far-longer than we originally anticipate, finding a coach to help your young adult in the meantime is going to be paramount.
Knowing what coaching looked like before, and what coaching is morphing into will be valuable information for every parent to have during this stressful time.
How Coaching looked prior to the COVID-19 crisis:
Post-treatment to provide support:
Graduates of treatment programs had experienced an opportunity to begin again before returning to “normalcy.”
Coaching involved continuing the momentum, stability and direction already begun.
Students engaged with and developed an organic network of support in his/her community.
Prior to treatment:
Coaching was an option to try to get back on track before taking on more involved treatment.
Coaching either succeeded or allowed for the individual to realize that he/she would benefit from a more supportive environment.
Student engaged with and developed an organic network of support in his/her community.
How Coaching is evolving during and post COVID-19 :
With clients being sent home prematurely from treatment,
They still need to establish personal momentum, stability and direction.
They will need to prioritize self care and basic demands of daily life.
With a clear assessment of the gains that they have made they can make the best of their current situation and recognize that their choices and behaviors going forward are important and powerful predictors of their relapse potential.
We currently need our young adults to be healthy and strong and we need them to be team players.
The state of the world has changed in the time that they have been away from home.
In many cases our young adults have never been truly needed. This may be a transformative experience as they consider service to their community.
In the years to come they will remember where they were and what they were doing during this time.
If young adults practice isolation and extreme social distancing during this time they may wish to learn about models for self-development and education that work well with withdrawing from the world.
They may learn from various hermit and rites of passage traditions which they think will work best for them.
They may keep engaged with online learning and need to develop the self discipline to track and correct their own behaviors.
Student still should engage with and develop an organic network of support in his/her community.
The benefit of coaching and technology allows for young adults to work with coaches from around the US. During this time of social distancing coaches can connect with their clients remotely. Even coaching or mentoring programs that are place-based are able to stretch a little beyond their typical boundary to help the growing number of young adults in desperate need of this current service.
Not sure where to start? There are coaching resources that specifically focus on mental health, recovery coaching, or life coaching. Here are some coaching resources, specifically working with young adults, that you can inquire with (in alphabetical order):
For questions or comments contact:
Guy Dumas via email
