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Health precautions implemented by the United Kingdom (UK) government to limit the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) led to the closure of many well-being support services in 2020. This created a need to re-think how impactful recovery support courses can be provided. One such service was that of the five-day Multi Activity Course (MAC) which was redesigned in accordance with national health guidelines to allow continued access for Wounded, Injured and Sick (WIS) military personnel to the service; the positive impacts of which are well established. This study investigated the influence of the newly developed Reduced numbers MAC (R-MAC) on the WIS participants lives during and for 12 months after attending. The R-MAC led to comparable impacts for participants well-being, at a time in which people's mental well-being was often being adversely affected. The positive mental well-being of the 261 participants improved by 33% throughout the course and remained 14% higher for the 37 participants who provided data six months after attending. Key facets of the experience that were most impactful for the participants were (i) shared experience with other veterans, (ii) discussing issues in a safe environment while receiving support from the staff and (iii) developing knowledge around self-help/personal development. Adapting to the challenging circumstances and developing the R-MAC mitigated against the already adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for the WIS participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effect of home and away game travel on risk of concussion across different levels of rugby union. Exploration study across school, university, and professional rugby teams. Retrospective analysis of concussion incidence and symptomology of surveillance data and prospective data collection for potential concussions via surveys. Data was collected from school rugby teams (n = 344 matches, over 2 years), a university rugby (n = 6 matches), and a professional rugby team (n = 64 matches, over two seasons). School level rugby had an increased prevalence of concussions in away matches (p = 0.02). Likewise, there was a significant increase (p < 0.05) in concussions at away matches in university rugby. In addition, the professional rug by team had significant differences in recovery times and symptoms with away fixtures, including longer recovery times (p < 0.01), more initial symptoms (p < 0.01), as well as greater and more severe symptoms at 48 hours (p < 0.05). This research highlights an increased prevalence of concussion in school and university-aged rugby players away from home, as well as increased symptoms, symptom severity, and recovery times in professional rugby players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the current review is to synthesize the evidence of patients' perspectives of recovery after hip fracture across the care continuum. A systematic search was conducted, focusing on qualitative data from hip fracture patients. Screening, quality appraisal, and a subset of articles for extraction were completed in duplicate. Themes were generated using a thematic synthesis of data from original studies. Fourteen high-quality qualitative studies were included. Four review themes were identified: recovery as participation, feelings of vulnerability, driving recovery, and reliance on support. Patients considered recovery as a return to pre-fracture activities or "normal" enabling independence. Feelings of vulnerability were observed irrespective of the time since hip fracture and only diminished when recovery of function and activities enabled participation in valued activities, e.g., outdoor mobility. Participants expressed a desire to engage in recovery with realistic expectations and the benefits of meaningful feedback reported. While reliance on healthcare professionals decreased towards a later stage of recovery, reliance on social support persisted until recovery was perceived to have been achieved. Patient perspectives highlighted hip fracture as a major life event requiring health professional and social support to overcome feelings of vulnerability and enable active engagement in recovery. Rehabilitation professionals should ensure expectations and goals are set early in the recovery process. Rehabilitation professionals should ensure goals set with patients are tailored to the individual's pre-fracture activities or "normal" promoting independence. Rehabilitation professionals should monitor goals ensuring they are providing support, motivation, and managing expectations across the care continuum. Rehabilitation professionals should address patients' feelings of vulnerability, particularly in the absence of social support, and ensure appropriate ongoing input to maximize recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A life course approach recognizes the role of turning points in adding twists and turns in individuals' addiction recovery processes. The notion of certain key life events that trigger turning point experiences offers a valuable theoretical construct for understanding processes of change. The current study aimed to identify turning points and assess the role of contextual dynamics in generating long-term changes, based on lived experiences of persons in drug addiction recovery. A qualitative research design was applied using a Lifeline Interview Method (LIM), allowing a retrospective lens to elicit recovery narratives. Purposive sampling was utilized to compose a heterogeneous group of thirty persons in self-defined drug addiction recovery in Flanders (Belgium). An interpretative phenomenological approach was adopted during a thematic analysis, grounding the research claims in respondents' lived experiences. Key moments of change that were reported by participants are: (1) adverse drug-induced experiences; (2) becoming a parent; (3) 'hitting rock bottom'; (4) (dis)engagement of social networks and environments; and (5) addiction treatment. The findings illustrate the role of contextual dynamics that can facilitate (or hamper) experiencing these life events as turning points toward change. This study contradicts the notion of a single event or turning point causing abrupt changes in individuals' addiction trajectories. Contextual dynamics and meaning-making processes simultaneously influence whether specific life events can facilitate change. Treatment providers, researchers, and policymakers should take into account the process-based, situational, and relational nature of recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few adventurous training courses have been formally designed to assist military personnel in their recovery and/or transition into civilian life by supporting psychological health and well-being. This study examines, for the first time, the longitudinal effects of a five-day Multi Activity Course (MAC) on the mental well-being of serving but wounded, injured, and/or sick (WIS) UK armed forces personnel. The MAC is delivered using a participant-centered approach to encourage engagement in adaptive sports, adventurous activities, and personal development coaching sessions. This work extends previous research showing powerful short-term well-being benefits. Measures of positive well-being and psychological need satisfaction were provided by participants before and after attending the course, as well as two weeks, three months, six months and 12 months later. Self-reported well-being measures of psychological need satisfaction and positive mental well-being improved significantly throughout the course. These remained significantly higher at six and 12 months after the course, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore older adult's perceptions of early rehabilitation and recovery after hip fracture, as a complement to the UK standards for acute physiotherapy after hip fracture. In-depth semi-structured interviews with 15 adults aged 60 years or more in hospital after hip fracture surgery. A thematic analysis approach with interpretation informed by Bury's biographical disruption theoretical framework. Participants voiced the importance of self-determination, professional support, meaningful feedback, and social capital after hip fracture. Collaborative working with staff was required for meeting the UK standards. Participants voiced anxieties about their hip fracture when considered in conjunction with their age and co-existing conditions, anticipating a disruption to their previous physical and social activities. This new, more dependent, life situation was not acceptable to participants. This study suggests hip fracture alone, was not perceived as a biographical disruption by older adults although it is presented as a potential tipping point in the loss of independence, contributing to the wider disruption of advancing age and co-existing conditions. For successful implementation of the UK standards, goal setting should consider patients in the wider context of their advancing age and co-existing conditions to empower them to define a fresh narrative of self. Hip fracture was perceived as a potential tipping point in the loss of independence, contributing to the wider disruption of advancing age and co-existing conditions. Participants expressed uncertainty over their ability to recover their previous identity in the absence of professional support and/or social capital. Healthcare professionals need to educate and empower older adults to take charge of their own recovery. For successful implementation of the UK standards for acute physiotherapy, there is a need to contextualize goal setting to empower patients to define a fresh narrative of self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand how the social networks of a new recovery community can help sustain recovery, focusing on processes of social identity change, in the context of the wider UK recovery movement. A cross-sectional, mixed-methods social network analysis (SNA) of ego-network sociograms to map network transitions, using retrospective measures. Ten men were recruited from a peer-worker programme, in the South Ayrshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP), West of Scotland. Network measures were compared between two timepoints, just prior to current recovery and the present time. Measures included size and density, closeness of members, and their positive or negative influence, proportion of alcohol and other drug (AOD) using and recovery peers, and extent of separate subgroups. These were complemented with qualitative interview data. There was a significant transition in network composition, with the replacing of AOD-using peers with recovery peers and a broader transformation from relationships being framed as negative to positive. However, there was no significant transition in network structure, with AOD-using and recovery networks both consisting of strong ties and a similar density of connections between people in the networks. The transition in network composition between pre-recovery and the present indicates a different set of social influences, while the similarities in network structure indicate that the recovery network replaced the role of the using network in providing close bonds. This helped reduce social isolation experienced in early-recovery and provided a pathway into more structured opportunities for volunteering and employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing body of evidence shows that informal mutual aid groups benefit those in addiction recovery. However, attention for mutual aid groups in practice and policy varies internationally and is only recently emerging in continental Europe. Existing evidence is mostly limited to studies of Alcoholics Anonymous groups in the United States. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to examine the relationship between membership of a variety of mutual aid groups and recovery capital, participation in social networks, and commitment to sobriety for individuals in drug addiction recovery (N = 367), living in the UK, the Netherlands, and Belgium. A convenience sample of participants completed an extensive assessment about their recovery experiences. Sixty-nine percent of participants reported lifetime (ever) membership of different mutual aid groups. Analyses reveal that membership of mutual aid groups is strongly associated with more participation and (self-reported) changes in social networks, greater levels of recovery capital, and a stronger commitment to sobriety. The findings suggest that participation in mutual aid groups may support addiction recovery through multiple mechanisms of change in favor of recovery. These findings highlight how mutual aid support may complement formal addiction treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recovery is now the defining feature of UK drug and alcohol policy. Despite this policy emphasis, little attention has been paid to the lived experience of those in recovery. Instead, research has typically concentrated on treatment populations, which are predominantly male. Consequently, we have little insight into recovery experiences in general, and specifically how they might differ for females and males. This article makes an important contribution through offering a unique insight into the addiction/recovery pathways of 342 female and 410 male participants using data gathered via the UK Life in Recovery survey. Participants were recruited via social media and recovery groups. Bivariate analyses were used to explore gender differences in relation to personal characteristics, addiction and recovery (self-defined), well-being, and family life. These data suggest that a greater proportion of females in recovery report having specific needs in relation to mental health and relationships with children or partners whilst a greater proportion of males disclosed having specific needs in relation to physical health. Whilst the findings reflect the importance of ongoing support for everyone in recovery, they also suggest the need to provide gender-responsive recovery support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The concept of recovery has exerted considerable traction in mental health services for adults of working age, but less so in older people's mental health services. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a staff-level recovery intervention in older people's mental health services. Method: The study used a mixed-method pre-post design. The study took place in NHS older people's mental health services, UK. Staff participants were multi-disciplinary mental health team members from the same service. The intervention was a manualised staff-level recovery intervention called the Older Adults Recovery Intervention (OARI). Measurement included the Recovery Knowledge Inventory and the Recovery Attitudes Questionnaire (RAQ-7) as well as fidelity data and in-depth qualitative interviews. Results: OARI was delivered to 204 staff in 15 clinical teams. There was a statistically significant change towards improvement in four of the six recovery attitude and knowledge sub-scales. There were positive findings in change in practice at individual level, but not at team level. A number of context barriers were identified leading to the intervention not being delivered as intended. Conclusions: Further development of OARI will involve a clearer distinction about the practice implications for service users with dementia versus functional illnesses, a stronger focus on implementation support, more use of evidence in training materials and a tailoring of context to meet professional group training needs. Overall, this study contributes novel data to the evidence base for recovery within older people's mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Experiencing shame can be a risk factor for relapse for people recovering from alcohol dependence, but for some it may act as a necessary protective factor for preventing relapse. Knowing how best to manage shame is therefore an important issue, yet the precise nature of the relationship between shame and alcohol dependence remains largely unexplored. Research questions: (1) In what ways do participants tell their stories of shame? (2) How is shame experienced and/or understood by those in recovery from alcohol dependence? Method: Eight participants were recruited from Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) groups and invited to tell their story of recovery. Stories were then analysed using a narrative analysis, focusing on how participants narrated their stories and made sense of their experiences of shame in particular. Findings: Participants spoke about an inherent deep-rooted negative view about themselves, which was present long before alcohol dependence developed. Alcohol served as a means of connection to others and a way of artificially relieving feelings of worthlessness. Recovery was about finding somewhere safe to talk about feelings of shame and make sense of these experiences. Conclusions: The results indicate that management of shame is an important component of recovery programmes for alcohol dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the concept of recovery has expanded, and become embedded in drug and alcohol policy, so too has the proliferation of online recovery support. This article explores data from the UK Life in Recovery survey, focusing on online recovery methods categorized as online groups, websites, and smartphone applications. Although 301 people (39.30%) reported involvement with at least one online recovery method, chi-squared tests reveal significant associations between people in stable recovery (5 years or more) and the use of recovery applications (Cramer’s V = .114), as well as between people in full-time employment and the use of online recovery websites or recovery applications. Having dependent children was not associated with use of any online recovery method, yet gender was (Cramer’s V = .088). This study extends the relatively limited literature and knowledge base of online recovery methods. Although the evidence points to higher engagement of recovery websites and apps for people in stable recovery, encouraging online recovery methods for individuals in early recovery may support recovery efforts when the risk of returning to substance misuse and active using social networks remains high. Further research should investigate the mechanisms of recovery change, with a focus on gender differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evidence is now clear that more than one half of those who have a lifetime addiction to alcohol or drugs will eventually achieve stable recovery. As documented in the Life in Recovery surveys and elsewhere, recovery often brings about positive changes across a diverse range of life domains. Although this suggests that there are some universal experiences of recovery, there has been a lack of comparative recovery research examining the variations in recovery experiences across different settings and cultures. Using a combined data set of the United Kingdom and Australian Life in Recovery surveys and the three-stage model of recovery, the authors compare life achievements at each stage across the two settings. There are differences in patterns of recovery, with elevated levels of ongoing mental health problems in Australia, and significant involvement with the criminal justice system in the United Kingdom, suggesting a contextual and structural role in understanding recovery pathways. The implications for policy and practice are reviewed around structural barriers and the role of social justice in advancing recovery models and pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sail training refers to sea voyages designed to foster personal and social change. Such training has mainly involved young people but may have the potential to benefit adults who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. During the voyage described here clients in drug rehabilitation centres across the UK were given the opportunity to participate in a 5-day sail training voyage. Pre- and post-voyage interviews were conducted with 11 clients to explore their experiences of being selected and participating in this voyage. Clients enjoyed the experience and found it to be beneficial, promoting self-insight, new life plans and social skills development. Living in an unfamiliar, potentially dangerous and inescapable environment necessitating close proximity to others and teamwork under the supervision of expert authority figures generated bonding with and caring for others; as well as the development of new competencies and greater self-confidence. The findings suggest that sail training can be beneficial to clients in recovery from addiction and highlight key features that may optimise effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although recovery has gained considerable momentum in recent years, pathways into recovery programs are less understood. “You do the MAFS” is a 6-session, peer-led group that educates service users about abstinence-based recovery and provides a gateway into mutual aid. Through a mixed methodological approach, this study found that attendance at “You do the MAFS” improved participant health and social functioning, increased mutual aid attendance and reduced substance use. An intervention such as this would be a useful addition to the substance misuse treatment sector as provision to make links to and increase support for those in recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aim: To identify indicators that diverse stakeholders believe are important when measuring recovery from addiction.Methods: Our previous work with service users had generated 28 indicators of recovery. Using Delphi group methodology (three rounds), we assessed the extent to which stakeholders working in the addictions field agreed that the 28 indicators were important on a scale of 1–10. Participants included 146 individuals with diverse job roles in 124 organisations across the British Isles.Findings: Round 1 scores were high. There was evidence of greater scoring consensus in Round 2, but this trend was less certain in Round 3. Participants scored 27/28 indicators ≥7/10 in Round 3, so confirming their importance. The only Round 3 indicator with a mean score <7 was “experiencing cravings”. There were statistical differences between the Round 3 indicator scores of some sub-groups of participants, but absolute differences were small (never more than 1 point for any indicator).Conclusions: We have identified 27 recovery indicators that stakeholders working within the addiction field in the British Isles consistently ranked as important. Replicating our methods in other countries, and with additional stakeholder groups, will provide greater clarity on the term “recovery”, its relevance and value, and how it can best be measured. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study evaluated Pillars of Recovery, a 12-session group and individual session program for comorbid substance dependence and mental health problems. Service users (n= 42) were assessed at baseline and after completing the program. Postintervention, statistically significant improvements were found across a number of outcomes. Effect sizes indicated that these improvements were robust and significant. In addition, significantly fewer service users were above the validated clinical cutoff scores on psychometric measures of substance dependence, depression, anxiety, and impaired social functioning indicating some clinical improvements. Findings would indicate this program may represent a promising treatment, and more effectiveness research is under way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing recognition that cultivating compassion for oneself and others can act as an antidote to feelings of threat, shame, humiliation and paranoia. This study aimed to explore the further development of a narrative-based measure of compassion. We hypothesised that greater compassion would be associated with lower levels of positive symptoms, negative symptoms, cognitive disorganisation, excitement and emotional distress. Participants were 29 individuals with psychosis. Greater narrative compassion was associated with less negative symptoms, less cognitive disorganisation and less excitement. We found no correlations between narrative compassion and the Self-Compassion Scale. Notwithstanding the methodological problems of our study, our findings have important implications for developing an attachment-based understanding of compassion and the use of compassion to support recovery from complex mental health problems such as psychosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Having access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) is a prerequisite to meaningful participation in society. Objectives: This paper seeks to: i. explore the engagement of homeless drug users (HDUs) with ICTs and ii. discuss the findings with reference to recovery from drug dependence. Methods: The study design was qualitative and longitudinal, involving data collected in 2012-13 via 52 semi-structured interviews with 30 homeless drug users (25 men; five women). Participants were recruited from 17 hostels in two English cities. Interview data were analyzed using Framework. Results: HDUs had access to ICTs, used ICTs, and wanted to engage with them more. Experiences of digital exclusion were a function of participants' inability to afford ICTs, the relatively cheap and poor quality technology available to them, limited knowledge about ICTs, and lack of support in using them. That HDUs were often unable to take full advantage of technology because they had nobody to explain what their devices could do or to show them how they worked was ironic given that using ICTs to (re)establish and maintain relationships were functions of technology that HDUs particularly liked. Conclusions: The physical, human, cultural, and social capital of HDUs influenced their access to, and use of, ICTs. Equally, ICTs were themselves an important recovery resource. Services and others should endeavor to provide HDUs with easy access to good quality technology, as well as offers of support and education so that all individuals have the knowledge and confidence to make optimum use of the technology that is available to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on documentary analyses and interviews with twenty key informants in 2012, this paper analyses the shift in British drugs policy towards 'recovery' from the perspectives of major stakeholders. The processes involved in reopening the debate surrounding the role of substitution treatment and its re-emergence on to the policy agenda are examined. Drawing on Kingdon's work on agenda-setting, the ways in which methadone maintenance was challenged and defended by key stakeholders in the initial phase of policy development and the negotiation of a 'recovery' focus as the organizing concept for British drugs policy are explored. Study limitations are noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was based on a peer snowballing method involving members of a service users group in Birmingham, United Kingdom, who were asked to identify and interview members of their peer networks who had achieved 'sustained recovery' of one year. Two hundred and nineteen individuals were recruited who defined themselves as being in recovery, consisting of 132 individuals in medication maintained recovery and 87 in abstinent recovery. Those in maintained recovery were more anxious about using heroin and had lower self-efficacy, worse physical health, poorer quality of life, and more peer group members still using. Being older was associated with greater quality of life (rather than time since last use) supporting a 'maturing out' hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the academic sources and origins of the 'recovery movement' in the drugs field in the United Kingdom and considers a series of disparate evidence sources that have been applied and used in this regard. Only two of these originate in traditional addictions materials-treatment outcome and cohort studies-with the remaining studies reviewed coming from a range of other areas. In particular, the sources include a switch in focus from the specialist treatment clinic to the community, and from the therapeutic to the more broadly social. The framework for this approach is explicitly developmental and attends to the published research around crime careers and addiction careers. The final sections of the article review recent UK addiction recovery research and assess where we are and what we currently know-and as a consequence the key gaps and the methodological questions that need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The therapeutic community (TC) in the United Kingdom was built out of a merging of the democratic TC tradition pioneered by Maxwell Jones and others immediately after the Second World War and after the American drug-free TC originating in the Synanon experiment in the late 1950s. This latter tradition traces its roots back through the mutual-aid fellowship Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). This article examines how AA principles were adapted for the TC and how this new approach impacted upon the early drug treatment network in the United Kingdom. The evidence base for TC methodology is briefly described along with a short analysis of the marginalization of the approach in the past two decades and the future possibilities for modified TCs for special populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In both Scotland and England, recovery has emerged as a key concept in public policy and has informed the national strategies in each country. This high-level commitment has provided a major opportunity for the establishment of 'recovery-oriented systems of care' in each country but with differences in both the content of the policy and in the mechanisms for implementation. This article discusses questions around implementation and the issue of time scales, with implications for changing cultures and practices in provider agencies and commissioning practices at a local level. Much of this debate concerns attempts to operationalize 'recovery' at an individual level and to create meaningful measures of recovery process and outcome. The overview and discussion component will review the challenges faced in attempting to translate recovery policy at a national level into meaningful systems at a local level and the likely impact this will have on individuals and communities attempting to initiate their own recovery journeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recovery group participation is relevant to both clinical and research activity. Its measurement with the Recovery Group Participation Scale (RGPS) is an attempt to have a measurement of participation across a range of recovery groups. The factor structure, among other psychometric properties of the scale, is however, undefined. The present study examined the factor structure of the RGPS in alcohol and drug recovery populations in Birmingham and Glasgow, United Kingdom. Participants from the Birmingham (n = 219) and Glasgow (n = 205) recovery studies who had a completed form of the RGPS formed the basis for the factor structure examination. Principal component analysis extracted one factor, which accounted for 39.3% and 67.4% in the Birmingham and the Glasgow samples, respectively. Overall scores on the RGPS were associated with higher quality-of-life scores and with greater self-esteem and social networks of nonusers in recovery. The key question that remains to be addressed is the evolving role of recovery group participation in prospective studies of growth of recovery capital and sustained recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will seek to understand and critique existing service user involvement through an analysis of existing forums. This analysis will explore the drivers that have led to the formation of such groups, explore the range and scope for involvement that these forums allow, and assess their effectiveness in relation to definitions of their purpose. The analysis will also seek to determine whether there are common factors that either progress or limit their ability to achieve their aims. On the basis of this evidence, and within the context of the growing recovery movement, the article will present a potential new model, or models, and definitions of service user involvement. It will also outline the development of one such model through an examination of Uchooseit (a peer support service in Tameside that is situated in the Northwest of England). In this way, the article will seek to stimulate debate over the vexed question of what service user involvement really means within the United Kingdom and how it may be defined in the future within the context of the recovery model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article details the history of an informal recovery-orientated mountaineering group based in North Wales. Although by definition a study rather than a research project, it nonetheless seeks to use the principles of narrative research as a means of evidencing the existence of activity-orientated recovery groups, illustrating their diversity and exploring the issues of knowledge and power that arguably construct and restrict recovery agendas. What will be presented is both a successful and typical mutual aid story (all be it in a more unusual context), springing from accidental beginnings but then progressing through initial bonding and forming to the long-term realization and maintenance of support. It will explore why belief in others, acts of giving and sharing, access to resources, and the taking of risks are fundamental ontological considerations for the recovery movement. Further, a tale of philosophies, knowledge, ownership, power, and recognition of achievement will provide evidence of what in other sectors would be called successful treatment outcomes but in reality actually offer challenges to rethink traditional treatment approaches and embrace a wider recovery-orientated perspective. This exploration of the evolution of a functional and successful participant-owned recovery group will be linked to conceptual models of recovery and change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In both Scotland and England, the current drug strategies (HM Government, 2008; Scottish Government, 2008) have demonstrated a clear commitment to an integrated recovery-oriented model of treatment for drug problems, which represents a significant change in focus toward a more person-centered and individualized philosophy for the delivery of drug treatment in the United Kingdom. This change has met with some resistance from a range of professionals in the United Kingdom, and the purpose of the article is to make explicit these concerns and objections, classify them, and examine their foundations. A group of UK academics, policymakers, and practitioners, who met under the auspices of the UK Recovery Academy, agreed to collate a list of objections to the viability of recovery approaches in the addiction field and to assess the merits of each concern. This process resulted in a total of 26 objections that are reviewed. The article concludes with an overview of the questions remaining unanswered in the United Kingdom and an assessment of the position of the 'recovery movement' in the UK addictions field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]