Pathways to Recovery: A Strengths Recovery Self-Help Workbook

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The diagram provides a simple description of each service type’s core function in delivering recovery-oriented care, as follows: RSS help individuals and their families to connect to wider communities of people in recovery, and in so doing help them to sustain and develop their recovery in the long term. Why we need this guidance Engaging in self-care—maintaining healthy practices, including getting abundant sleep, which bolsters the ability to ride out cravings and summon coping skills Figure 1 is a Venn diagram that outlines the roles of treatment services, RSS and LEROs by highlighting the core function of each, and the overlaps between their functions in the provision of recovery-oriented care. It can help you see the distinct and shared functions of each service type and how these services can improve care for people affected by problem alcohol or drug use, by working together. It does not provide an exhaustive list of all the interventions provided by each service type. The 3 circles represent: Many find in 12-step programs—Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotic Anonymous (NA) are among the best known—a caring, supportive community willing to pull each other through the temptations, the self-rebuke, and the hopelessness that especially mark the early stages of recovery. They also value having role models of recovery and someone to call on when the recovering self is an unsteady newborn. Whatever the stress relief that comes from being in a group, many others are not comfortable with the religiosity, the steady focus on the dangers of relapse rather than on growth, or the subscription to powerlessness of AA and NA. Data show that the programs are helpful for some but not for everyone. Addiction treatment is not one-size-fits-all.

Studies show that craving has a distinct timetable—there is a rise and fall of craving. In the absence of triggers, or cues, cravings are on a pathway to extinction soon after quitting. But some triggers can’t be avoided, and, further, the human brain, with its magnificent powers of association and thinking, can generate its own. Studies show that craving for alcohol peaks at 60 days of abstinence. For methamphetamine, it peaks at three months. What is advisable depends on the needs of each individual. Many types of recovery support are available, and many people make use of more than one type at any time and may shift from one type of support to another as recovery proceeds and needs evolve. An increasing number of high schools and colleges offer addiction recovery resources (CRPS, or Collegiate Recovery Programs) for students, including mentors, workshops, dedicated lounges, and group meetings and activities. Below is a sampling of many types of support that can be found. S elf-managed pathways of recovery simply means that there is no formal process of recovery or engagement in professional services. Individuals choose to create their own path of recovery. Faces & Voices in the recovery community FAVOR UK runs an ARCO with a network of RCO members in the UK and has developed a toolkit to support people setting up RCOs. The UK ARCO identifies the core principles of an RCO as follows.But they are not insurmountable. There are companies large and small that have recovery-friendly hiring practices. In addition, there are nonprofit organizations such as American in Recovery and the National HIRE Network that specifically help those with addiction or criminal history to find work. Usually for a substantial fee, career transition services help executive and higher-up employees define career goals and help with job searches. Many treatment programs have partnerships with area businesses to hire those in recovery. And one measure of a comprehensive substance abuse treatment program is the help it offers to enrollees to identify their interests and find and build a meaningful career path. Individuals with experience and expertise may find a route to full employment by first being willing to offer their skills pro bono or as a volunteer to businesses or nonprofit organizations in their field. Peer-delivered and peer-led interventions have been described and evaluated in a wide range of settings. This includes in: Peer-led initiatives use their extensive networks to get a deep understanding of the problems associated with alcohol and drug use and people’s experiences of treatment and recovery. This means they can speak and advocate for recovery communities. Involving and supporting families

Networking, Certifying, and Training Suicide Prevention Hotlines and the Disaster Distress Helpline Dotted lines between the specialist and non-specialist services are used to represent the need for interconnectivity between all services that can play a key role in supporting someone to reduce harm and recover from problem alcohol and drug use. How the wider community can promote recovery Escape. Planning in advance a way out of high-risk situations—whether an event, a place, or a person—helps support intentions in the face of triggers to use. Outpatient programs—formal programs administered regularly for a large portion of the day, typically based at a healthcare facility and involving individual therapy and group sessions that teach an array of life skills Peer-led initiatives model recovery in the community, helping to reduce stigma by showing that recovery from problem alcohol and drug use is possible. Advocates for people and communities

In peer support groups, people can help each other to sustain their individual recovery and strengthen their sense of purpose and direction. This can happen informally and organically with friends and family members, or formally through projects or services as volunteers or workers (Humphreys, 2004). Engaging in meaningful activity Best D, Albertson K, Irving J, Lightowlers C, Mama-Rudd A and Chaggar A. The UK Life in Recovery Survey 2015: the first national UK survey of addiction recovery experiences (accessed: 18 June 2023). Sheffield Hallam University, 2015.

Does the treatment program provide as dignified and respectful an environment as would be found in other medical settings? Faces and Voices of Recovery UK ( FAVOR UK) is a national charity made up of people in recovery, their friends, families and recovery community organisations ( RCOs). RCOs is an alternative term for a LERO. FAVOR UK builds on the work of the Faces and Voices of Recovery (FAVOR) which developed the Alliance for Recovery Centered Organizations ( ARCO) in the US.This relationship between treatment and recovery services will often blur the boundaries of operation. For example, there will be times when a treatment worker will carry out significant recovery support work as part of a person’s treatment and recovery care plan and that person has no wish to engage with RSS. Similarly, RSS and lived experience initiatives can play a vital role in providing harm reduction services to vulnerable people who are not accessing treatment. There are pathways to recovery that do not involve treatment services at all. The distinct and shared roles of specialist services in delivering recovery-oriented care Education and Training: Participants will have the opportunity to build on their employment history and experience by learning new skills and gaining industry-certified credentials. authenticity of voice: this means that RCOs exist to represent the recovery community. This includes actively involving all members of the recovery community Peer-led communities, services and supports offer people recovery support in the long term. It is hard to imagine an effective recovery-oriented system of care without any peer-led services and supports.

Religious faith and spirituality are important to some people’s recovery journeys. This includes people returning to old or adopting new religious or spiritual practices. Healthy environments and access to community resources Evidence suggests that adding just one abstinent person to the social network of someone in recovery from alcohol increases by 27% the likelihood that they will be abstinent in a year compared to standard aftercare (see definition of aftercare in the glossary) (Litt and others, 2007). These findings suggest that interventions that grow people’s social networks to support recovery can improve outcomes. Peer support groups Figure 2 shows how specialist alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services, and the non-specialist services are embedded in the communities they support in an effective ROSC. This diagram follows on from figure 1. Like figure 1, there are 3 circles that represent treatment services, RSS and LEROs. Around these specialist services, the diagram shows the main non-specialist services that can support treatment and recovery outcomes. These are: The intensity, duration and type of recovery support people require at different stages differs between individuals (Best and others, 2019). While LERO models differ, the principles underpinning these peer-led initiatives are shared. The growth of LEROs and recovery communities in the UK has seen cross-sector networks forming. These networks and organisations have identified the shared principles underpinning LEROs. FAVOR UK: principles of recovery community organisationsRecovery communities are networks of people in recovery, their families and friends, recovery-focused organisations and support groups. Recovery-oriented system of care MIDDLESEX COUNTY , NJ – Residents seeking employment who have been impacted, directly or indirectly, by the opioid epidemic now have an opportunity to apply for the Middlesex County Pathways to Recovery program led by the Office of Workforce and Career Development. Applications are now open and can be found at middlesexcountynj.gov/pathways and can be filled out in English and in Spanish. The deadline to apply is January 31, 2024.