Reflecting on Six Months as a Recovery Specialist
Feeling thankful for this #workmilestone, one that complements and elevates my role as a health and resilience coach.
This week marks six months as a Per Diem Recovery Specialist at Beth Israel Lahey Behavioral Health’s Hart House, a residential program supporting women with substance use disorders.
And much like the women in recovery who are supported here, I approached this challenge with a “just for today” mindset.
Just for today, I can be present, supportive, emotionally regulated, and ready for both the expected and the unexpected on their often harrowing—and hopeful—road to recovery.
Just for today, I can put my coffee down and get to the real grind.
From heavy moments to hilarious ones. From trauma-informed boundaries to Backstreet Boys blaring in the halls. From completely upended plans to inspiration and affirmations drawn from everywhere—Buddha and the Bible, Jelly Roll and The Lion King, and sometimes even a license plate.
Three things I learned pretty quickly:
Don’t strive for the perfectly packaged message.
Don’t rescue someone from what might otherwise be an important moment of growth.
And don’t take the weight of a shift home with you.
It’s every bit as messy as I expected, and more exhausting than I could have imagined.
But as I approach 500 hours, I can also say there have been moments that felt like little confirmations from a Higher Power that I was placed here for a reason.
The nights when shivers ran down my spine after reassuring a weary, weeping mom that our support for her was unconditional.
The days I looked someone in the eye and told them they have gifts to share with this world.
The moments I sat quietly with someone, feeling as though a vault in my own heart had been opened—and maybe, just maybe, something opened in theirs, too.
And the times I made them laugh at me considerably more than with me during our mindfulness and parenting groups. 😂
This experience has also become an unexpected and incredibly valuable extension of my work as a health coach.
Health coaching is about much more than individual conversations. It’s about learning how to create spaces where people feel heard, respected, capable, and empowered to identify their own strengths and next steps.
Working at Hart House has given me hands-on experience with group facilitation, behavioral health, trauma-informed communication, motivational support, boundaries, resilience, and the beautiful unpredictability of working with people in real life—not in a perfectly packaged coaching session or presentation.
I’m learning to facilitate without needing to control the outcome. To listen without immediately fixing. To recognize that sometimes the most meaningful thing I can offer is simply a safe, compassionate presence.
Those lessons will stay with me long after this particular chapter does.
I don’t know what the next six months will bring, let alone the next six days.
But I do know I’m grateful for what these six months have taught me about behavioral health, women in recovery, group facilitation, resilience—and myself.
And my colleagues and directors?
Some of the greatest, most gifted God-sends to this community. ❤️
I’ve always wanted to be part of a collaborative care team involved in direct patient care.
Doesn’t get much more collaborative—or direct—than this. 🤗
#WorkMilestone #Recovery #BehavioralHealth #HealthCoaching #Resilience #GroupFacilitation #WomenInRecovery #TraumaInformedCare #SixMonths
