Addiction and Mental Health Recovery Coaching

Celebrate Recovery and the American Association of Christian Counselors have partnered to equip church leaders, wellness professionals and anyone who is often the person others turn to when life gets hard with a brand-new 42+ hour Mental Health Coach training program, including 15 lessons focused on recovery application.

Courses Included

MHC-CR 101: Foundations of Celebrate Recovery and Mental Health Coaching introduces participants to the mission, structure, and Christ-centered foundation of Celebrate Recovery while equipping them to understand the church’s role in mental health support. This course explores key issues often present in addiction and recovery, including guilt, shame, forgiveness, attachment wounds, trauma, anxiety, depression, ACEs, dual diagnosis, and substance abuse. Participants will learn how healing involves spiritual growth, emotional awareness, healthy community, and appropriate care. The course also emphasizes coaching ethics, confidentiality, referrals, red flags, and the practical skills needed to support individuals with wisdom, compassion, and hope.

MHC-CR 201: Mental Health Coaching Skills equips Celebrate Recovery leaders with practical tools for creating safe, healthy, and compassionate recovery environments. This course focuses on core coaching skills such as empathetic listening, motivational interviewing, spiritual discernment, goal setting, encouragement, accountability, and responding wisely to resistance or conflict. Participants will learn how to recognize different personalities, manage triggers, establish healthy boundaries, and lead without burnout. The course also addresses crisis moments, ethics, confidentiality, referrals, and celebrating progress in recovery. Leaders will be strengthened to walk alongside others with grace, wisdom, and confidence while protecting trust, promoting growth, and supporting lasting healing.

MHC-CR 301: Addressing Mental Health and Behavioral Disorders prepares Celebrate Recovery leaders to recognize and respond wisely to common mental health and behavioral challenges that may appear in recovery ministry. This course explores depression, mood disorders, emotional dysregulation, personality disorders, cognitive distortions, psychosis, trauma, PTSD, substance use, ADHD, grief, crisis situations, disruptive behavior, and psychiatric medication. Participants will learn how to offer compassionate support while understanding the limits of coaching and the importance of appropriate referrals.

Continuing Education Approval Statements

The Mental Health Coach - Celebrate Recovery Certification Program provides 42 training hours that may be applied toward continuing education requirements for coaches, including those pursuing credentialing through the International Board of Christian Care (IBCC).

This program is not approved for NBCC continuing education credit and does not qualify for CE credit toward mental health licensure renewal.

Participants should check their state and/or local regulations regarding required continuing education hours. For more information Light University Continuing Education programs, please visit: https://lightuniversity.com/continuing-education-statements/