Meet The Team At Save The Michael's Of The World

Tonja

 

Tonja is one of the Recovery Coaches at Save The Michael’s Buffalo Office. Tonja has her own recovery story and works a 12-step program and has seen the devasting effects that alcoholism and substance use disorder has on loved ones. Because of this unique perspective, Tonja can help individuals as well as families. Tonja explained that recovery coaching is different from counseling in the aspect that she can relate to clients on a personal level, but more than that, Tonja says that the best way she can help a person is to ask them “How can I support you”? Tonja goes on to say that relapse prevention is a part of her coaching methods. She reminds people that relapse/reoccurrence can be but doesn’t have to be a part of their story. But if it, the most important piece of advice she can give is to allow yourself some grace, it’s not about how many times we fall, but how many times we get back up. Tonja’s favorite way to support her clients, is to challenge them to find out what motivates them, what their passions are, and support their recovery however that looks for them. But the perfect motivator is to have her clients think of others rather themselves. “When you start to think of yourself too much, do something for someone else with no motive attached”. Tonja expressed that to be successful in this line of work, one must have a pure heart, and really want to help others. She says, “It’s not about what someone can do for her, but what she can do for someone else”. Because this can be emotionally draining work, Tonja has learned how to not take her work home with her, and to really lean into her 12-step program, by doing so, Tonja is able to maintain professional boundaries while still providing empathetic support to her clients. Tonja closed the conversation with stating that she is proud to work for an organization of trailblazers. She says, Save The Michael’s has set the bar for recovery coaching, intake, transportation, and so much more including all the laws that owners Avi and Julie Israel have changed to make substance use disorder treatment more accessible to the community. But her favorite part of Save The Michael’s is that it’s familial and team based, which sets them apart from other organizations.