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While the field of recovery science has burgeoned over the past two decades, little research has considered the experiences of university students in recovery from addiction, particularly in Canada. Addressing this gap, using a recovery capital framework, 16 qualitative interviews were conducted to explore students' meanings, experiences, and barriers/facilitators to recovery from problematic substance use and/or behaviors. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed three main themes: 1. multiple recovery pathways and identities; 2. stigma and disclosure; and 3. proximity to campus community and resources. Recommendations to create more recovery-friendly campuses are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student recovery programs are an emerging trend across university campuses in Canada, yet little is known about the experiences of students who utilize these programs. Canada's first student recovery program launched in 2019, with six additional launching shortly thereafter. The current study offers a first look at the student experience in recovery programs at the first Canadian institutions to offer recovery support on campus. We used qualitative methods to examine individual recovery trajectories, program participation, stigma, barriers to recovery on campus, and the impact of a campus-based recovery program on various areas of their lives. Our findings highlight three main themes: (i) inclusivity and diversity of the programs, (ii) increasing recovery capital and dimensions of well-being, and (iii) reducing barriers to recovery on campus. The results inform how Canadian student recovery programs meet the needs of their students and identify areas for improvement using a recovery-informed lens to center the lived experiences of students in recovery. Findings from this initial study may drive the development of future student recovery programs at Canadian institutions and inform new initiatives by existing programs outside of Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore the lived experiences of meaningful relationships among persons in 12-step recovery. The distinction of recovery is important as our study focused less on relational patterns during active substance use and more on their perception within their recovery. This phenomenological study followed Van Manen's six step approach of qualitative research. Data were collected from 7 participants through semi-structured one-on-one participant interviews. Participants were asked open-ended questions regarding their SUD recovery (e.g., "What is your experience of your capacity to be in meaningful relationships?"). Resulting from the analysis, four themes were extracted from the overarching theme of the Capacity for Meaningful Relationships in Recovery. The four emergent themes included Building the Foundation in Recovery, Sharing a Common Ground of Support, Giving Back – Helping Others, and Bridging Recovery to Family – The Biggest Accomplishment. Limitations and future research are discussed as well as the potential impact and application of these findings as they relate to recovery research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing interest and acceptance of Integrative Body-Mind-Spirit (IBMS) practice in recovery has created opportunities to explore new adjunct interventions for substance use disorder (SUD). Additionally, more and more people are seeking out the services of IBMS alongside conventional treatments, thereby engaging in dual interventions. This qualitative study aimed to gather perspectives about the experience of IBMS interventions (acupuncture, meditation, and Himalayan salt treatment) in combination with traditional SUD treatment. Twelve adult females in a residential recovery program completed weekly IBMS interventions and offered their experiences through survey responses. Themes identified that reduced stress led to greater body awareness and relaxation among participants. This contributed toward using IBMS as an alternative coping mechanism to substances and greater clarity with their life's purpose. The results of this study underscore the importance for expanded research on the effects of IBMS interventions used in the treatment of SUD [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is considered a public health problem and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is considered effective, but it is predominantly frequented by men in Brazil. The purpose of this article is to understand how women conceive and experience their recovery in AA women's meetings. For this, an ethnographic research was carried out with women from AA groups located in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, from March 2020 to February 2021. Data collection was carried out through participant observation in female AA meetings and semi-structured interviews with thirty women who participated in the meetings. The results showed that for women, AUD is a disease linked to gender asymmetries in Brazilian society, so that they do not feel comfortable discussing details of their intimacy in the presence of men, since in mixed meetings they were often target of sexist harassment and discrimination. Despite AA's patriarchal culture, women help each other in a gender-only space where they find the mutual support necessary for their recovery. This research is considered to contribute to the understanding of how gender inequalities affect the treatment of women in AA and the importance of having only women's meetings to strengthen them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many people living with substance use disorder require multiple types of support to reduce use and mitigate harms. Recovery community centers have emerged alongside formal substance use treatment and mutual self-help groups as another option to support peoples' recovery. Research on the helpfulness of recovery community centers is limited. The purpose of this paper was to describe what Staff and Member Facilitators perceived as helpful components of a recovery community center. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 Staff and six Member Facilitators of a recovery community center, Recovery Café, in Seattle, Washington. Qualitative interviews were analyzed via grounded theory approach. Eleven themes emerged on the helpful components of Recovery Café, including tangible/infrastructure and intangible/experiential strengths. Three themes related to opportunities for program improvement. Many themes on the helpful components were consistent with prior research on recovery community centers and other supports for recovery. Findings provide insight into potential active ingredients and mechanisms of recovery community centers and highlight the potential role of recovery capital. Additional research is needed to test these components to improve the understanding of if and how recovery community centers work to support people with substance use disorders in recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) thrives in isolation. Recovery requires healthy and supportive relationships in order to heal and grow. Many individuals in alcohol recovery find it challenging to establish and maintain meaningful romantic relationships, yet little research has examined this concept. With a particular focus on relationship insecurity and relationship safety, this study explored persons' experiences of romantic relationships in AUD recovery. Twenty-three participant interviews were analyzed. A conventional content analysis was first used to inductively uncover categories and then a summative content analysis was utilized to examine textual frequencies. Categories, themes and coded frequencies informed the overall analyses. Three main categories emerged with themes explaining participants' relationship experiences (Identifying Unsafe Relationships: negative and positive impact of conflict; Addressing Relationship Insecurity: anxiety and avoidance; and Establishing Relationship Safety: trust and recovery). Although there were several limitations, this study offers new insight on romantic relationships in AUD recovery. We emphasize the importance of establishing safety and addressing maladaptive attachment behaviors in order to better navigate toward healthy and supportive romantic relationships in recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and theoretically framed within Frankl's logotherapy, the current paper explored how members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) with long-term recovery (LTR) experience aging and health-related issues. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken to explore the lived experiences of three older members of AA with LTR. IPA revealed five higher-order group concepts: spirituality, being in the present, acceptance, self-esteemandfellowship: a support network. Interpretation of the themes revealed that LTR in AA is beneficial in helping individuals transition to later life, develop coping mechanisms for poor health and find a purpose and meaning to life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College settings can be challenging environments for students recovering from substance use disorder. Collegiate Recovery Programs (CRP) have emerged on college campuses across the United States to help mitigate the risks recovering students face and to promote academic and recovery success. The current article describes the first collegiate recovery home to follow an Oxford House [OH] model, established at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the present preliminary study, qualitative data were utilized to explore the strengths and challenges of this recovery model and students' experiences in the OH collegiate recovery home. Key stakeholders in the creation of this collegiate recovery home (n =2), as well as current and former student participants (n = 6), were interviewed. The key stakeholders' interviews revealed insights on the home's creation, modifications made from the traditional OH model, and the challenges faced in implementing a collegiate recovery home. Rapid qualitative analysis of the interviews of residents revealed salient themes that describe students' experiences within the collegiate recovery home: (1) resident social support, (2) connection to the student body, (3) anonymous status of the house, (4) lifestyle, (5) optimism, (6) self-independence, (7) Collegiate OH is essential for sobriety, and (8) UNC involvement and oversight. The implications of these findings for collegiate recovery homes are discussed, as well as suggestions for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of addiction, suicide, and surrender. Explored through a narrative inquiry lens, findings confirmed that the process of surrender is a crucial element in long-term recovery. Embracing the concept of surrender allows individuals living with addiction to gain control by giving up control, leading potentially to long-term recovery. Implications for treatment, both facility- and clinician-centric, are shared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative analysis looks at women across a continuum of sobriety and affiliation with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The sample frame consists of 60 women's stories as submitted to the Grapevine: The International Journal of Alcoholics Anonymous and explores older women's recovery experiences within the context of AA. An intersectional interpretive lens is offered in order to look at both gender and age as they relate to recovery from alcohol use disorder (AUD). Findings suggest a comparative difference not only among older women as a group seeking recovery but between those who have late-onset AUD, those who sought help in middle-age, and those women with long-term sobriety affiliated with AA for 20 or more years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a qualitative account of LGBTQ experiences seeking recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous. Tracing back over the past four decades, personal stories of recovery reflect the struggles with getting sober and claiming membership in AA. While AA has worked to make its program of recovery welcoming to all who seek it, this has not always been the experience of the LGBTQ member. The stigma and moral panics spread in the wider society infused AA, as well. However, for the most part, those telling their stories found the means to stick it out and ultimately recover from alcoholism primarily through the support provided by AA. Even as the wider society andAA has become more accepting of the LGBTQ identity, the individual LGBTQ member of AA continues to describe their own struggle with acceptance of their sexual or gender identity. In fact, it appears that their recovery follows two tracks—to fully accept their alcoholic identity and to fully accept their LGBTQ identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a qualitative study of minority women's recovery experiences as members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The sample frame consist of 135 personal stories submitted to the Grapevine: The International Journal of Alcoholics Anonymous. The stories span the time between 1945 and 2010. A gender analysis based on the standpoint perspective provides the interpretive lens from which to look at gender and difference among women in recovery. It is found that the double standard based on gender is a shared perception but is further complicated for those women of a minority status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a significant increase in the number of Collegiate Recovery Programs (CRPs) nationwide; however research in this area is limited. It is essential to demonstrate the effectiveness of these communities and to define specific goals for program efforts and to develop a more standardized framework for supporting students in recovery. This qualitative study aimed to understand the goals for CRPs, factors that promote success and issues that these programs face. As opposed to a strict focus on abstinence, successful programs focused on increasing quality of life and increasing student resources to be successful academically and in their recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there has been a growth in recent years in recovery research, much of this has been from the United States, and there is very little comparative research in this area. This article describes the rationale, conceptual foundations and methods for a prospective, multicountry, cohort study aimed to map pathways to recovery from problematic illicit drug use, with a specific focus on gender differences in recovery pathways. This study combines qualitative and quantitative components and examines the impact of recovery policy on the accessibility and viability of recovery pathways in England, Scotland, Belgium, and The Netherlands. Additionally, the article describes five processes through which mechanisms for behavior change for recovery may be triggered. This study will provide opportunities for linking recovery outcome research with analyses of national recovery policies, while also addressing the gap in literature around female pathways to recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative interview study examined 45 informal support dyads where a sexual assault was disclosed. Data from matched pairs of survivors and their primary informal support provider (e.g., friend, family, significant other) were used to explore the survivor-support provider (SP) perspectives of coping with assault-related distress via substance use and the effects of survivor substance use on the survivor-SP relationship. Results revealed that survivors’ use of drinking and/or drugs to cope had positive and negative effects on survivor-SP relationships. Findings also showed that SPs play various roles in providing support to survivors who cope via substance use, including engaging in substance use with the survivor and efforts to help get help in their recovery from the assault and substance abuse. Suggestions are made for how safe spaces can be provided where survivors and supporters can get information and treatment, whether formal or informal, that addresses sexual assault, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse issues in an integrated way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This New York City-based qualitative study rooted in minority stress and grounded theories explores the experiences of 11 transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) adults in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Three themes emerged in the study: (1) AA as a foundation for sobriety and gender transition; (2) experiences with gender minority-based stigma in AA; and (3) use of adaptive strategies to negotiate survival in AA. This paper concludes with recommendations for AA members, substance abuse treatment professionals, social workers, and other healthcare providers to enhance TGNC experiences within substance abuse treatment and recovery communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study analyzes gender role ideology and how it shapes the process of addiction and pathways to recovery for women in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). More than 600 women's stories submitted to The Grapevine: The International Journal of Alcoholics Anonymous between the late 1940s and through the 1980s provides the sample from which dominant themes are extrapolated. The sick role as conceptualized by Talcott Parsons in the 1950s is tested, and it is found that sex roles (now discussed as gender roles) do influence and shape women's experiences as alcoholics and their pathways to recovery. The double standard is identified early on whereas more public displays of deviance are not widely discussed until the 1980s. In between, the labeling of women with "bad nerves," the overuse of sedatives, and the struggle to accept the disease model of alcoholism are all discussed in these women's stories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a single case study of a young adult’s early recovery from alcohol-use disorder whie participating in 12-Step fellowships. A longitudinal, qualitative study was carried out with semistructured interviews taking place at intervals of 3 months. The transcripts were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. During the participant’s 2 months of recovery, a series of intrapersonal changes were reported concerning issues of self-care and emotional development. Following 6 months in recovery, the participant’s recovery focus then centered on the interpersonal issues related to changes in his social network and ways of relating. By 10 months, the participant’s recovery emphasized aspects of self-actualization, including a sense of spirituality. The findings illustrate how issues of authenticity, emotional expression, and identity transformation are intertwined in the participant’s early recovery. This idiographic case study offers an in-depth examination into the early days of recovery of a young adult within the context of 12-Step recovery fellowships in the United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on a study related to observation of positive psychology interventions (PPI) involvement in addiction treatment. Topics discussed include utilization of PPI by counsellors in treatment of addictions, illustration of mixed-method approaches in management of substance-use disorders (SUDs), observation of different variations for interventions by counsellors, prevention of negative behaviour by management with initiation of abstinence and improvement of relationships by PPI.

The article focuses on a study regarding the social support of peer support specialists (PSS) that are provided during three different treatment phases including treatment, recovery management and transitions in treatment. It mentions the reorganization of four types of social support by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration including emotional, instrumental, informational and affiliation.

The article offers information on building recovery community by generating skilled recovery workforce. It mentions dependence of stable recovery on overcoming acute and developing supportive social networks. It also mentions social enterprise model for engaging recovering people with an addiction in a building program linked to recovery housing and provides employment.

The article presents the investigation of qualities and characteristics focused on alcoholics anonymous sponsors. It mentions that the substance use disorder (SUD) with alcohol or other drugs (AOD) affects the adolescent and adult population in the U.S. It mentions that despite prevention and treatment efforts, the prevalence remained stable.

The emergence of recovery as an organizing construct has sparked interest in mapping the varieties of addiction recovery experience. This study uses interpretive (qualitative) phenomenological analysis (IPA) to examine six-diverse pathways of long-term addiction recovery. Semistructured interviews were conducted with six respondents representing natural recovery, Twelve-Step (Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous) recovery (separate), secular recovery, faith-based recovery, and medication-assisted recovery. Common and distinct features of these pathways of addiction recovery are discussed with noted implications for the design of addiction treatment, recovery support services, and an understanding of recovery itself. Qualitative research can be a valuable tool in the elucidation of addiction recovery pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feminist critics have largely argued Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is oppressive, male dominated, and places women in yet another patriarchal institution. However, one third of AA's membership is made up of women. Despite the feminist criticisms, women find healing, recovery, and empowerment within AA. Through in-depth interviews with 10 diverse women, this qualitative study seeks to bring academic discourse around AA into conversation with the voices and experiences of women in AA. The goal of this study is not to refute prior feminist criticisms but to question how women in AA navigate and negotiate the contradictions found within a male-dominated and male-centered program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“Recovery Is Up to You,” a 12-week peer-run group experience for persons with major psychiatric problems, has had positive effects on important elements of recovery: empowerment, hope, and self-efficacy beliefs. Determining if such an experience would be equally efficacious for persons with addiction problems is the focus of this study. The 12-week course was experienced by eight groups of persons with addiction problems and the outcome, measured in terms of the response of participants and of the group leaders, was a favorable one as the course was found to be supportive of the recovery process, providing the participants and peer group leaders alike with new perspectives on meaningful living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group relations conferences and 12-Step recovery thrive on the participants working in groups. This article is an inquiry into the integration of these traditions, in the Loyola Group Relations Conference, January 14–16, 2011. This conference recruited staff and members from the recovery community. 12-Step meetings were integrated into the conference design. The authors discuss the similarities and differences of the two models and examine the learning of conference staff and members. The authors conclude that Group Relations Conferences focusing on leadership, authority, and recovery from addiction can bring important group relations learning to the recovery community and vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This phenomenological investigation explored the lived experiences of recovering substance abuse counselors regarding their use of self-disclosure of their personal histories of addiction with clients in counseling for substance abuse–related issues. A total of 10 recovering counselors were interviewed and asked to describe in detail their uses of self-disclosure, changes in frequencies, amount, and rationale for use or nonuse of self-disclosure. The interviews were analyzed for patterns in recovering counselors' lived experiences related to self-disclosure, and themes related to rationale for and against the use of self-disclosure, benefits, and drawbacks of self-disclosure were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]