Volunteering with Recovery Nation

Recovery Nation is an active, community-managed site. Without the effort of its volunteers, it simply can't exist. The site is run by a community of volunteers who compassionately share their insights, experiences and energy to help others who are now where they once were.

If you believe in the mission of Recovery Nation and are interested in volunteering, we would love to have you. And don't for a minute think that you have nothing to contribute. Each of us have our own unique perspectives and experiences that collectively, provide a comprehensive body of work for others to filter through their own lives. Your experience, be it successful or not, has value. Sharing that experience can literally help a person to change their life. So, if you have an extra hour or two per week to help others who are struggling with the consequences of sex/love addiction — please consider doing so.

Volunteers Required

Recovery Nation needs volunteers to help expand the resources/services offered. Applications are being accepted for the volunteer positions listed below. There is no set time commitment required, no pressure to fulfill any responsibilities, and you can quit at any time — all we ask is that, should you find yourself with several hours and nothing to do, you consider putting your unique skills, life experiences and desire to work in helping others.

Volunteer Positions Required

Forum Moderators

Responsibilities: Welcome new workshop participants; Monitor forums 1x/week to remove inappropriate posts; Notify Jon when participants may be getting off track.

Skills Required: Common sense; Ability to read through diverse opinions objectively; Ability to facilitate productive discussion, as opposed to controlling it.

Recovery/Partner Coaches

Responsibilities: Provide coaching support to others in the areas of the workshops that you have already mastered. Please note, you do not need to have completely mastered the workshop to be an effective coach. You simply need to have achieved competence in at least one area that you would feel comfortable guiding others in. Coaching can take place via live chatting, personal messaging or the forums (your choice).

For those who choose to be volunteer coaches, there is a short, self-guided coaching orientation process to complete. For those who choose to go on to professional coaching, there is a three-month certification process to complete.

Skills Required: First and foremost, coaches need to have achieved relative health (or are progressively working towards it) for themselves, before reaching out to help others. In recovery, this does not mean that you have necessarily ended all urges, but it does require that you have learned how to manage those urges efficiently. Competence in the topic(s) you are willing to help others with is obviously important. That does not mean you must be an expert on the topic, but at a minimum — you should have demonstrated the ability to understand/integrate the particular topic within the context of your own life/recovery.

Additionally, you should have the ability to understand that your role is as a support coach, not as a counselor or instructor. Personalities who do not take themselves too seriously are ideal. A sense of humor and patience are also great attributes for this position; as is the ability to objectively see diverse and potentially offensive situations in the context of those seeking help — without passing personal judgment.

Site Developer

Responsibilities: Recovery Nation has many undeveloped and/or underdeveloped resources that could use the touch of a good programmer and/or web developer. If you are competent in these areas and would like to volunteer a few hours a week to assist in resource development...your services would be greatly appreciated.

Resource Development

Responsibilities: Assist in seeking out and reviewing additional healthy resources that Recovery Nation can recommend to our community. Assist in developing tools/programs that are either currently under construction and/or need to be built (e.g. parenting education; skill development worksheets).

Skills Required: Enjoy Internet surfing. Solid judgment in reviewing sites for content value. Ability to write a basic review for sites that you believe would be a good resource for others.

Community Awareness Specialist

Responsibilities: To surf appropriate, relevant Internet sites to provide an overview and link to Recovery Nation. This is more complex than it sounds, as the goal is not to market to this site, but to increase community awareness by offering quality information to those who seek it. To this end, you would be free to link to whatever workshop material that you have found valuable, copy it and post it on other sites, or do whatever you think is appropriate in terms of sharing the information from Recovery Nation. It is our hope then, that those who relate to such information, will then seek out the workshops and make true changes to their lives.

Skills Required: Good judgment. Ethical, considerate behavior while engaging in other online communities. Must enjoy surfing the Internet and exploring a wide variety of sites (e.g. relationship sites, women's health sites, recovery sites, etc.)

Lesson Content Developer

Responsibilities: As the workshop lessons are posted, they contain the basic information needed to understand the topic at hand. The value of many lessons can be greatly enhanced by adding graphics, personalized examples of the issues being discussed and expanded information related to the lesson topic. This is your opportunity to share your overall knowledge, writing skills, graphical skills, programming skills or whatever other skills you possess to help improve the tools available for those who follow in your recovery/healing footsteps.

Skills Required: This will depend on the area you would most enjoy contributing to. For static graphics, a knowledge of converting to GIF and JPEG image formatting is needed. For content development, excellent writing skills are appreciated, but not critical. Having the ability to clearly and anonymously share your knowledge/experiences in the context/flow of the lesson is preferred.

New Topic Authors

Responsibilities: To create from scratch or develop an existing topic of interest into a lesson for others to learn from. Material must be free from copyright infringement. You will retain absolute copyright over all lessons that you create — and are free to co-publish them anywhere and in any way that you see fit. UnderstandingAddiction.org asks only for the right to provide free access to them within the scope of the workshops, and to maintain editorial control over the content that is published within these workshops.

Skills Required: Excellent writing skills. A passion for the topics being written about, along with a thorough mastery of these topics. Previous lesson development/teaching experience a plus, but not essential.

Love Addiction (or any other compulsive behavior) Author:

Responsibilities: The Recovery Workshop was developed with sexual addiction as the primary focus — with love addiction taking a secondary role. This was not the original intent — but time management required certain restrictions to be made. We are looking for several motivated people to take the existing workshop lessons and convert them to a focus on love addiction.

The recovery patterns involved in sexual addiction and love addiction are similar — and so it is the behavioral content that needs updating. With your help, we can expand the workshop to the point where those seeking help with a love addiction can see the recovery process in the context of the behavioral patterns associated with such an affliction — rather than being forced to expand the sexual addiction recovery model to fit their own.

Skills Required: Excellent writing skills. The ability to recognize and objectively communicate examples of love addiction patterns to others. The ability to work with Jon in identifying the areas most in need of expansion. Must have a thorough desire to share this information within the mission of the site. In other words, you must really believe that the information you are sharing is needed. Why? Because it is...desperately. And also because, while most positions require no more than a few hours per month, this one can be rather demanding — requiring several hours per week or more — depending on the issues at hand. That means, in order to enjoy it, you have to really believe in what you are doing.

12-Step Meeting Facilitator

Responsibilities: Co-facilitate weekly online 12-Step meeting that focuses on learning and implementing each of the steps in a healthy and productive way.

Skills Required: Intellectual mastery of the 12-Steps as they apply to sex/love addiction recovery. Personal belief of the 12-Steps as a healthy tool for recovery. Ability to be objective, relaxed and goal-oriented. Previous group facilitation experience helpful.

Bible Study Facilitator

Responsibilities: Co-facilitate weekly online meeting that integrates Christianity into the addiction recovery/trauma healing process.

Skills Required: Mastery of Biblical topics related to addiction, sexuality, trauma, etc. a must. Ability to objectively accept diverse opinion as equal opinion (in terms of a learning environment). Ability to develop semi-structured topical lesson plans.

Note: The Workshops are based on a principle of variable values. Meaning, we teach people how to use their value system, not what that value system should be. However, because there are so many Christians that come to this site seeking assistance, integrating Christian values (or any other religion, for that matter) into the recovery process makes sense. If you feel that this is something that you would like to pursue, the opportunity is there. But be forewarned, three others have tried and failed. They burned out and were never heard from again. And I am only partly kidding. It will take a unique individual who is committed to the mission of what they are doing — integrating God's word into one's transition to health — to succeed. And, it will likely take six months or longer to complete.

If you are interested in any of these positions, contact us. Let me know what position you are interested in, your user name on the site, and what you have to offer in terms of experience and motivation. Be brief.

Note: Volunteer positions exist as opportunities to derive value and meaning in what you are doing. If you are doing it just to help out or out of obligation...don't. The time and energy that will go into training you will not be worth it. Volunteer because you want to. Because the work is important to you. That is what makes it a win-win situation for all.