Peer Recovery Coaching - Peter BrunzellePeer Recovery Coaching - Peter Brunzelle
I Love Being Sober
Tim Westbrook and Peter Brunzelle talk about Peter’s journey into recovery and why peer recovery coaching can be a vital bridge across different stages of care. The conversation looks at how coaches differ from sponsors and therapists, and how lived experience and steady support can help people build a sustainable sober life.
47:15•22 May 2020
Peer Recovery Coaching: The Crucial Bridge in Sobriety with Peter Brunzelle
Episode Overview
- Peer recovery coaches use their own lived experience to offer non‑judgemental, ongoing support alongside treatment, therapy and sponsorship.
- Coaching sits in the middle of the care continuum, helping people move between detox, treatment, housing, community groups and medical services.
- A coach focuses on what the person wants, including staying connected even if they are still using, while gently offering options for change.
- Ethical coaching requires clear boundaries, such as not giving rides or money, and regular supervision within an organisation.
- Recovery can feel bleak at first, but fully engaging with support and following guidance from others in recovery can gradually shift how life feels.
“A coach self‑discloses and has every pathway available to them under the sun.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? This conversation between host Tim Westbrook and guest Peter Brunzelle digs into that question through Peter’s story and his passion for peer recovery coaching. You’ll hear Peter talk frankly about starting his recovery at 18 after years of chaos, arrests, foster homes and time in jail.
He describes the moment he realised there might be "an option to maybe do life different" and the long, messy stretch of early sobriety where he stayed clean but felt anything but free. From there, the focus shifts to what actually helps people stay sober. Peter breaks down the difference between sponsors, therapists and peer recovery coaches. A sponsor, he says, is usually focused on the 12 steps. A therapist works from professional training and often keeps personal experience private.
A coach, on the other hand, is someone "who simply understands because of their own life experience" and can self‑disclose, stay non‑judgemental, and walk alongside a person through real‑life stuff like jobs, housing, relationships and day‑to‑day crises. He frames peer recovery coaching as the "middle ground" and a bridge across the whole continuum of care: detox, treatment, housing, groups and medical support.
A coach can stay involved whether someone is still using, in treatment, or stepping back into everyday life for the first time sober — calling, texting, meeting up and helping connect them with the right resources. Peter also stresses that good coaching needs structure: ethical guidelines, clear boundaries (no giving rides or money), and proper supervision so coaches are supported and accountable.
If you’re wondering whether a recovery coach could fit alongside therapy, sponsorship or treatment, this episode gives plenty of real‑world context to help you decide where that extra layer of support might make a difference. Could having someone who’s "been there" at your side be the missing piece in your recovery plan?
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