Is it possible to have someone help you with recovery if they have never dealt with addiction themselves?
Like TPD, some of my best help has come from people with no lived experience as addicts. But what's maybe more important: some of the *worst* therapies I've been party to came from people whose only real credential in the helping professions was the fact that once upon a time they had been addicted.
Lived experience as an addict can certainly help a skilled practitioner help others. But in my opinion, the most important qualifications are deep empathy and clarity of vision.
Just my 0.02.
Sim