Wellness & Recovery Coach
Advantage Behavioral Health Systems
Summary
Operates under general supervision, the Wellness and Recovery Coach provides group and individual coaching services to individuals receiving behavioral health treatment. Utilizing a strengths-based and person-centered approach, the Wellness and Recovery Coach assists clients in developing practical life skills, enhancing emotional wellness, increasing independence, and achieving personal recovery goals. This role works collaboratively with clinical staff and community partners to promote client stability, treatment engagement, and overall quality of life.
Job description
Position Summary
Operates under general supervision, the Wellness and Recovery Coach provides group and individual coaching services to individuals receiving behavioral health treatment. Utilizing a strengths-based and person-centered approach, the Wellness and Recovery Coach assists clients in developing practical life skills, enhancing emotional wellness, increasing independence, and achieving personal recovery goals. This role works collaboratively with clinical staff and community partners to promote client stability, treatment engagement, and overall quality of life.
Core Curriculum and Coaching Topics
- Health & Wellness: Substance use education, physical health, medication and symptom management, and understanding diagnoses.
- Emotional & Behavioral Regulation: Anger management, coping strategies, stress and anxiety reduction, relaxation techniques, and addressing phobias.
- Life & Vocational Skills: Money management, independent living, pre-vocational activities, and current events.
- Social & Community Integration: Self-esteem building, interpersonal social skills, and developing healthy leisure activities.
Core Support & Recovery Services
- Deliver individual and group coaching focuses on mental health, substance use recovery, emotional regulation, interpersonal communication, and community integration.
- Assist clients in establishing and achieving individualized goals related to employment, education, housing, daily living, and overall wellness.
- Empower participants to identify personal strengths, set self-directed goals, and build independence.
- Facilitate the development, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP) and related recovery tools.
- Maintain a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and person-centered approach across all client interactions.
- Cultivate a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment that encourages active participation and engagement.
Recovery Planning, Skill Building & Community Integration
- Guide the development of healthy daily routines, effective coping mechanisms, problem-solving abilities, and independent living skills.
- Lead structured skill-building activities covering communication, budgeting, time management, and stress reduction.
- Promote community inclusion, social connection, and active engagement with natural and peer-led recovery supports.
- Champion participant choice, self-determination, and self-advocacy within behavioral health and community systems.
- Provide consistent encouragement, motivation, and accountability to sustain client engagement in treatment services.
Advocacy, Engagement & System Collaboration
- Advocate alongside participants to support personal autonomy, goal attainment, and effective system navigation.
- Actively participate in interdisciplinary treatment team meetings, collaborating closely with clinicians, case managers, nurses, and external providers.
- Support participants in recognizing incremental progress and celebrating recovery milestones.
- Maintain strict professional boundaries and uphold client confidentiality in full compliance with HIPAA and organizational policies.
Crisis Awareness, Documentation & Compliance
- Monitor for and recognize early signs of crisis, relapse, or safety concerns, communicating promptly with clinical staff or supervisors while preserving peer support role integrity.
- Assist with crisis intervention and verbal de-escalation protocols as needed.
- Complete accurate, timely clinical and service documentation in accordance with agency, Medicaid, CCBHC, and HIPAA standards.
Preferred Skills and Competencies
- Facilitation & Coaching: Proven ability to lead engaging group sessions and provide effective one-on-one peer coaching.
- Recovery Frameworks: Working knowledge of Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP), recovery-oriented care, and strengths-based practices.
- Interpersonal & Boundary Management: Strong rapport-building skills paired with the ability to maintain healthy, appropriate peer boundaries.
- Crisis Response: Ability to identify behavioral health crises early and apply supportive de-escalation techniques.
- Systems Knowledge: Familiarity with local community behavioral health networks and social service systems.
- Administration: Strong organizational skills with proficiency in compliant, timely electronic health record (EHR) documentation.
Requirements
- High school diploma or GED and at least one (1) year of experience in a social service-related position, OR completion of two (2) years of coursework at an accredited college or university including at least 15 credit hours in a social service-related field
- Preferred: Bachelor's degree in social work, psychology, mental health, nursing, education, or a closely related field
- Preferred: At least one (1) year of full-time (or equivalent part-time) work experience in social services delivery such as case management, community outreach, or prevention and education
Company overview
Advantage Behavioral Health Systems (ABHS) is a publicly-funded Community Service Board (CSB) and safety-net provider serving ten counties in Northeast Georgia, including Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe, and Walton counties. Established in 1972 as the Northeast Georgia Center, the organization operates as one of 22 CSBs in Georgia, providing comprehensive behavioral health, developmental disability, and addictive disease services to uninsured and underinsured individuals. ABHS offers a wide range of evidence-based services including community outreach, prevention and education programs, child and adolescent behavioral health services, adult outpatient care, crisis intervention, inpatient detox services, outpatient alcohol and drug counseling, women's services, and developmental disability support. The organization operates 19 clinics across its service region and maintains a 24/7 behavioral health crisis center in Athens. Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), ABHS is transitioning to a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) model to enhance coordinated comprehensive care. With a mission focused on person-centered treatment and recovery support, the organization serves as a critical community resource for mental health and substance abuse services in Northeast Georgia.