Fresh out of rehab Lindsay Lohan is moving to NYC, and multiple outlets report that she is taking a sober coach with her. How much can a sober coach set back a former child star?
Sober coaches, also called sober companions, are not cheap; they can cost from $1,000-$2,500 a day to monitor your behavior and help prevent you from relapsing. Some sober coaches stay with you about 12 hours a day, accompanying you to business meetings, parties, and on set if you’re an actress, etc, but others can actually move in with you. They’ll grocery shop with you to help train you to avoid the wine aisle, and check your coffee in the morning to make sure it’s not “Irish.”
Sober coaches aren’t there to baby you, they’re hired to tell you the truth that a loved one wouldn’t necessarily tell you. “We don’t do hand-holding or babysitting jobs,” Sober Companion founder Doug Caine told US News and World Report. “Coaches and clients develop an intense, bonded relationship. If you’re not willing to do some work, if you won’t go to any lengths to stay clean, you’re going to have a tough time benefitting.”
Sometimes the coaches will work with the client for several years, going from monitoring almost every waking moment to meeting several times a week and doing checkups by phone. They can also work with the clients to set-up daily activity schedules, meal plans, financial budgets, career plans, etc.
There is no governing body of sober coaches, and they don’t operate on a program like anything that involves 12 steps. What they do with their clients is tailored to the individual client, and of-course, to their budget.
It sounds like something like this could definitely benefit Lindsay, who has been to rehab multiple times, but like many people with substance abuse issues, she often spirals into relapse. There’s been a lot of talk that some of her friends, and even family, don’t exactly create a sober environment for Lindsay to return to so it sounds like a sober coach would be an excellent option for her.
Lindsay’s revealing episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter airs 9 p.m. ET on OWN.
