• Priority 1 – Licensed Recovery Housing
• Priority 2 – Transportation
• Priority 3 – Recovery Support Service Workforce Development
• Priority 4 – Recovery Friendly Employment
• Priority 5 – Recovery Community Organizations and/or Recovery Community Centers

The Recovery Coach Academy© is CCAR’s signature 5-day training that has become the gold standard in recovery coach training across the United States and around the world. Designed to prepare individuals to serve as peer recovery coaches, this immersive training equips participants with the core skills needed to guide, mentor, and support people in or seeking recovery from addiction.

Whether you are new to the field or already providing peer support services, the Recovery Coach Academy offers a transformative experience that blends practical tools with personal growth.

This 30-hour intensive recovery coach training is held over five consecutive days and is facilitated in a retreat-like setting—either virtually or in person. The training is rooted in CCAR’s “Art and Science of Recovery Coaching” approach and emphasizes relationship-building, communication, ethics, and recovery planning.

What You Will Learn:

• The role and responsibilities of a Recovery Coach

• Core values and guiding principles of recovery

• Strategies to build trust and enhance communication

• Understanding multiple pathways of recovery

• Appropriate use of self-disclosure and storytelling

• Stages of recovery and stages of change

• Cultural awareness, power dynamics, and privilege

• Ethical issues and boundary management

• How to develop and implement a recovery wellness plan

Who Should Attend?

The Recovery Coach Academy© is open to anyone interested in learning how to support others in recovery, including:

• People in recovery

• Family members and allies

• Peer recovery support professionals

• Behavioral health providers

• Community advocates and volunteers

Recovery Coaching in an Emergency Department is a specialized 2-day, 12-hour training that equips recovery coaches to operate effectively within fast-paced, high-intensity clinical environments. As Emergency Departments (EDs) increasingly recognize the value of peer support, the need for trained recovery coaches who can respond with compassion, confidence, and professionalism is more important than ever.

This course is designed to prepare individuals for the rewarding yet demanding role of a recovery coach working in an emergency department setting. Participants will gain the tools, insights, and confidence needed to offer effective peer-based recovery support to individuals experiencing crisis or seeking help at a critical moment.

Across the country, recovery coaching in an emergency department is becoming a powerful tool in reducing overdose rates and connecting individuals to long-term recovery. Emergency Departments are often the first point of contact for individuals in crisis due to substance use. Having a trained recovery coach available in that moment can be the turning point.

CCAR has led the way in training ED-based recovery coaches through the Connecticut Emergency Department Recovery Coach Program. We’ve designed this course based on real-world experience and evolving best practices, ensuring participants are fully prepared to support patients, collaborate with medical staff, and navigate hospital systems with professionalism and empathy.

What You’ll Learn in the Recovery Coaching in an Emergency Department Course

In this recovery coaching in an emergency department training, participants will:

• Define the unique role and responsibilities of a recovery coach in an ED

• Learn how to “stay in your lane” while supporting patients and working alongside medical professionals

• Develop communication strategies to advocate for recovery-oriented approaches with staff and patients

• Practice using Motivational Interviewing (MI) to engage individuals through the stages of change

• Gain confidence in working in high-stress, fast-paced clinical environments

• Expand their recovery coaching skills in real-world hospital scenarios

Who Should Attend?

This course is ideal for:

• Certified or aspiring recovery coaches

• Peer support workers preparing to work in hospital or clinical settings

• Behavioral health professionals expanding into ED peer roles

• Community organizations launching ED recovery initiatives

• Coaches working in overdose response or harm reduction programs

Whether you are already working in an emergency setting or preparing to transition into one, Recovery Coaching in an Emergency Department will provide the skills, structure, and insight you need to thrive.

The Recovery Coaching and Professionalism course is a 2-day, 12-hour training designed to equip recovery coaches with the knowledge, skills, and mindset needed to thrive in professional environments. As the demand for peer recovery support grows across healthcare, justice, and behavioral health systems, recovery coaches are increasingly being called upon to serve in high-impact roles within hospitals, courts, treatment centers, and law enforcement settings. To meet this need, CCAR has developed the Recovery Coaching and Professionalism training—an advanced learning experience that helps coaches refine their communication, accountability, and boundary-setting skills while understanding what professionalism truly means in the context of recovery support.

What You’ll Learn in the Recovery Coaching and Professionalism Course

Over two days and 12 contact hours, participants in the Recovery Coaching and Professionalism training will:

• Define professionalism within the context of recovery coaching

• Identify and develop traits that characterize professional behavior

• Understand the personal accountability required in peer support roles

• Explore how to “stay in your lane” when working within large systems

• Revisit the recovery coach role to prevent role confusion or boundary issues

• Practice new communication and professionalism skills through interactive exercises

This recovery coaching and professionalism course combines direct instruction, group discussion, and role play to create a dynamic learning experience that builds confidence, credibility, and clarity.

Who Should Attend?

This course is ideal for:

• Recovery coaches preparing to work in hospitals, courts, police departments, or treatment programs

• Peer recovery specialists employed within large organizations or systems

• Supervisors and program managers supporting recovery coach integration

• Coaches looking to refine their professionalism and communication style

Whether you’re new to professional settings or seeking to sharpen your effectiveness in your current role, Recovery Coaching and Professionalism provides the structure and support you need to succeed.

The Spirituality for Recovery Coaches course is a 2-day, 12-hour training designed to help peer recovery coaches understand, explore, and effectively support others in their spiritual development during recovery. This training provides a respectful, inclusive framework to engage in conversations about spirituality—regardless of personal beliefs or faith backgrounds.

At CCAR, we believe that spirituality is a key element of long-term recovery, and this course invites recovery coaches to examine their own values while learning how to guide others in finding meaning, connection, and purpose in their recovery journey.

Spirituality for Recovery Coaches is not about religion—it’s about exploring how beliefs, values, and a sense of connection influence the recovery process. This course helps you define spirituality in your own terms and equips you to support others whose spiritual perspectives may differ from yours.

Just like our Recovery Coach Academy®, this training is deeply reflective and will challenge you to think critically, grow personally, and show up more compassionately in your work as a peer recovery coach.

What You’ll Learn in the Spirituality for Recovery Coaches Course:

• How to define and understand spirituality in the context of recovery

• How to explore your own beliefs and values without judgment

• How to support others in discovering their personal sense of spirituality

• Tools and resources to talk about spirituality in an inclusive, non-biased way

• How to remain supportive of individuals with different spiritual or non-spiritual paths

• How to integrate spiritual wellness into peer support work without overstepping boundaries

This spirituality for recovery coaches training is designed to deepen empathy, strengthen recovery connections, and equip coaches with the language and confidence to create safe, welcoming spaces for spiritual exploration.

Who Should Take This Course?

Spirituality for Recovery Coaches is ideal for:

• Peer recovery coaches and support staff

• Individuals in recovery exploring the role of spirituality

• Behavioral health professionals and counselors

• Family members and allies interested in spiritual aspects of recovery

• Anyone supporting others on their recovery journey

Whether you are faith-based, secular, spiritual-but-not-religious, or simply curious, this course welcomes all perspectives.

The Recovery Specialist is an individual with personal, lived experience of their own recovery. By offering insight into the recovery process, Recovery Specialists are able to share a unique perspective with those with similar life experiences. Recovery Specialists accept and agree that their experience as a person in recovery from a substance use disorder will be known by their colleagues, individuals served, and others with whom they may share that they have achieved this credential. The Recovery Specialist is a role model, mentor, advocate, and motivator. Recovery Specialists advocate for the individual, the recovery system, recovery-oriented services and assist to identify and reduce stigma. Recovery Specialists advocate to eliminate barriers, increase natural supports and build community. Services provided by the Recovery Specialist substantially improve an individual’s and family’s ability to sustain recovery and wellness. 

This training is for professionals who are interested in applying for the Certified Recovery Specialist (CRS), the Certified Family Recovery Specialist (CFRS) and/or the Certified Recovery Specialist Supervisor (CRSS) through the Pennsylvania Certification Board (PCB).

Training Overview

• 78 instructional hours; including 66 in class hours and 12 hours of homework. Introductions, ice-breakers, breaks, etc. do not count towards the 78 hours.
• Learners are provided a Learner Manual prior to the training. Approved trainers will coordinate this process.
• This training is designed to prepare Recovery Specialists for work in the behavioral health field.

Technology Requirements

• Be comfortable with computers, computer application and other technology
• Ability to complete online homework (12 hours)
• Laptop or desktop device. Mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones cannot be used.

This 3-hour training provides opportuniy for professionals to gain an understanding of the correct application of the State and Federal Laws governing confidentiality in the Pennsylvania Substance Use Disorder system.

What to Expect

• Understand why confidentiality is critical to the SUD field
• Become familiar with state and federal laws
• Learn the basics of 42 CFR
• Understand the scope of the law as it pertains to confidentiality
• Become familiar with the rule of re-disclosure
• Understand elements of valid consent
• Gain knowledge of court-related issues
• Understand the basics of Act 63 and Act 126
• Explore scenarios depicting confidentiality applications and issues

Elevate your knowledge and expand your horizons with the 3-hour Grant Writing overview training.

Topics discussed

• Where to find Grant opportunities
• Grant Websites
• What to do before you start writing
• How to write a Grant
• How to do a Logic Model
• How to do a Work Plan
• Letters of Support
• Implementation
• Reporting

Harm reduction is a practical and transformative approach that incorporates community-driven public health strategies — including prevention, risk reduction, and health promotion — to empower people who use drugs
(and their families) with the choice to live healthy, self-directed, and purpose-filled lives.

Harm reduction incorporates a spectrum of strategies that includes safer use, managed use, abstinence, meeting people who use drugs “where they’re at,” and addressing conditions of use along with the use itself.

This 3-hour training is designed to help Recovery Specialists understand Harm Reduction and learn about the different ways that Harm Reduction can be incorporated into Recovery Support Services.