Steve Norman was awarded his BS in Communication from the University of Oregon. In addition, he earned his Recovery Coach certification from the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR) and his Certified Peer Recovery Mentor certification from the Michigan Board of Addiction Professionals. Steve is also certified as a Meeting Facilitator for the SMART Recovery (Self-Management and Recovery Training) program. Steve received many hours of training in social work and addiction-related topics in conjunction with his past position as a mentor and coach at Network180, the Kent County, Michigan community mental health authority. Steve has been in the recovery community since 1982.
In 2011, Steve completed the ManKind Project’s New Warrior Training Adventure, an immersive weekend event that creates the space for each man to make his individual Hero’s Journey. Steve is the author of the upcoming book: Sun Way Talk: Illuminating the Art of Fulfilling Conversation, a guide for individuals seeking to adopt a communication strategy based on emotional accountability.
Steve specializes in coaching individuals who are working through life issues related to coping strategies, such as alcohol and drugs, that create negative consequences. Life coaching consists of two or more people participating in an equally self-disclosing conversation regarding how to best grapple with current challenges through relationships, education, and by using community-based supports — it is not psychological, in-depth therapy.
Steve believes there are many pathways to change and that a person who is engaged in change-related activities is in recovery. These change strategies include both theist and secular community-based supports such as 12-step groups, Smart Recovery, recovery residences, men’s work approaches such as the ManKind Project and skills-based practices such as meditation techniques that focus on mood stabilization and on reducing craving. Steve works with a strengths-based approach to coaching, which entails identifying life skills that have worked in the past and endeavoring to apply those skills to current challenges.
Hear more about life coaching and Steve’s work in his conversation with Randy Flood on the Revealing Men podcast. Connect with Steve directly to talk about life coaching or recovery coaching and see how he can help you get further on your life’s journey to more purpose and contentment.