Research on treatment outcome for addictive disorders indicates that a variety of interventions are effective. However, the progress clients make in treatment frequently is undermined by the lack of an alcohol and drug free living environment supporting sustained recovery. This book suggests that treatment providers have not paid sufficient attention to the social environments where clients live after residential treatment or while attending outpatient programs. It also describes the need for alcohol and drug free living environments. We then review the history of communal living for recovering addicts and alcoholics and provide concrete examples of the Oxford House model, which is a widespread communal living option for over 10,000 recovering persons in the US. The structure and philosophy of Oxford Houses are presented along with recent outcome studies providing support for their effectiveness. This book was published as a special issue in the Journal of Groups in Addiction and Recovery.

Living with Co-occurring Addiction and Mental Health Disorders

Learn to create a positive research/action alliance similar to that of DePaul University and the Oxford House community This book reviews important research conducted in a 13-year collaborative partnership between Oxford House (a community-based, self-run residential substance abuse recovery program) and DePaul University. It also presents practical guidelines for developing effective action research collaborative programs that can cultivate and maintain mutually beneficial community/research partnerships. Creating Communities for Addiction Recovery: The Oxford House Model presents and examines: practical guidelines for developing effective action research collaboratives focusing on the development of trust, respecting the personal experiences of the community members and the group, commitment to serving the community, validating findings with organization members, and accountability the experiences and attitudes of Oxford House community members in light of their participation in the collaborative research projects described in the book the essentials of designing and creating an efficient and productive yet homey residential community environment for addicted persons the factors that make Oxford Houses in the United States and Australia “safe and sober” settings for persons in recovery the differential growth among self-governed substance abuse recovery homes for men and for women—with a focus on the impact of state loan programs and the utilization of technical assistance in relation to the expansion of women’s houses as compared with men’s the economic advantages of the Oxford House model as compared with other treatment and incarceration alternatives the roles of ethnicity and gender in substance abuse recovery the structural social support of Oxford House men—and the impact of parenthood on these men’s substance use patterns and recovery attempts the medical care (need and utilization) patterns of a substance abusing and recovering population how Oxford House’s African-American community functions as a source of abstinent social networks the sense of community among women and women with children living in Oxford Houses—with emphasis on how the presence of children impacts the household perspectives of leadership by women (some with children, some without) affiliated with Oxford Houses The information in this book shows that the rules of the game have changed. Substance abusers now can take charge of their own recovery in effective and efficient ways, and practitioners can find low-cost housing options for their clients with substance abuse problems. As a part of your professional/teaching collection, Creating Communities for Addiction Recovery can help you or your students take understand and make effective use of this rapidly evolving paradigm of community-based recovery.

All across the United States, individuals, families, communities, and health care systems are struggling to cope with substance use, misuse, and substance use disorders. Substance misuse and substance use disorders have devastating effects, disrupt the future plans of too many young people, and all too often, end lives prematurely and tragically. Substance misuse is a major public health challenge and a priority for our nation to address. The effects of substance use are cumulative and costly for our society, placing burdens on workplaces, the health care system, families, states, and communities. The Report discusses opportunities to bring substance use disorder treatment and mainstream health care systems into alignment so that they can address a person's overall health, rather than a substance misuse or a physical health condition alone or in isolation. It also provides suggestions and recommendations for action that everyone-individuals, families, community leaders, law enforcement, health care professionals, policymakers, and researchers-can take to prevent substance misuse and reduce its consequences.

The addictions treatment field is reaching a tipping point that is revolutionizing the ways that behavioral health leaders think about people with alcohol and other drug problemsand how services and systems are developed. Recovery Management / Recovery Oriented Systems of Care contains six monographs by renowned recovery advocate William L. While and colleagues. These monographs provide insight and analysis of the topics important to todays addiction counselors and recovery coaches: recovery-oriented systems of care, recovery management, peer-based recovery services, and treating addiction as a chronic condition that requires ongoing management.

Mutual-help groups have proliferated, diversified and adapted to emerging substance-related trends over the past 75 years, and have been the focus of rigorous research for the past 30 years. This book reviews the history of mutual support groups for addiction that have arisen as adjuncts or alternatives to Twelve Step Programs, including secular mutual support groups like Secular Organization for Sobriety, Smart Recovery and Women for Sobriety, and faith-based mutual support groups like Celebrate Recovery. It also considers the mutual support groups attended by families and friends of addicts. These mutual support groups are examined in terms of their histories, theoretical underpinnings and intended communities. The structures common in mutual support groups have influenced the rise of a new recovery advocacy movement and new recovery community institutions such as recovery ministries, recovery community centers, sober cafes, sober sports clubs, and recovery-focused projects in music, theatre and the arts. This volume explores how collectively, these trends reflect the cultural and political awakening of people in recovery and growing recognition and celebration of multiple pathways of long-term addiction recovery. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Groups in Addiction and Recovery.

Although there is a strong and growing literature in the two areas of desistance and addiction recovery, they have developed along parallel pathways with little systematic assessment of the empirical evidence about the co-occurrence of the relationship or how one area can learn from the other. This book aims to fill that gap by bringing together emerging literature on the relationship between offending and substance use. Instead of focusing on the active period of its onset and persistence, this book examines the mechanisms that support desistance, addiction recovery, and the common themes of reintegration and rehabilitation. With contributions from a wide range of international experts in the fields of desistance and addiction recovery, the book focuses on a strengths-based, relational and community-focused approach to long-term change in offending and drug-using populations, as well as the shared barriers to effective reintegration for both. This book will be highly informative for a wide audience, from academics and students interested in studying desistance and recovery to those working in addiction services and the criminal justice system as well as policy makers and the people undertaking their own journeys to desistance and recovery.