First of all, lets define what life coaching is.

Here's how it's defined by the International Coaches Federation.

Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.
Professional coaches provide an ongoing partnership designed to help clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Coaches help people improve their performances and enhance the quality of their lives.

Coaches are trained to listen, to observe and to customize their approach to individual client needs. They seek to elicit solutions and strategies from the client; they believe the client is naturally creative and resourceful. The coach's job is to provide support to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity that the client already has.

And I would like to add:

Personal coaching, like fitness training, is not something you can be forced to do. You have to want to submit yourself to a kind of discipline, even though you yourself will define the workings of that discipline. There's no point in paying for life coaching, for example, if you don't want to follow up on the assignments you've given yourself, or continuously sabotage your own efforts. It is about progress, not perfection, but you need be willing to make a commitment and participate fully. Participating fully means showing up and being present, even in the face of fear, doubt or failure. No more hiding!

So how would coaching benefit someone who is in recovery?

Coaching and recovery is a match made in heaven. As recovering addict, even with years of sobriety, some of the challenges you may face are:

• Impulse control

• Difficulty with structure or disipline

• Goal setting / planning

• Daydreaming

• Self-care

• Follow through or staying focused

• Money managment

• Personal boundaries / limits

• Obsessive behavior

• Avoidance / Denial