What is Recovery? +

Recovery is individualistic, and it looks a little different for everyone.

There are many pathways and styles of recovery and everyone has different needs.

The Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary defines recovery as “the act or process of becoming healthy after an illness or injury… the act or process of returning to a normal state after a period of difficulty”.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health services Administration (SAMHSA), defines recovery as “A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential”.

12-step programs speak of recovery at two levels:

1. Recovery from active addiction: relief from the symptoms of obsession, compulsion, denial, and self-centeredness.

2. A spiritual awakening: a transformation of personality in which one begins living according to spiritual principles such as open-mindedness, willingness, honesty, tolerance, etc.

The goal in a 12-step program is to arrest the progressive nature of active addiction and learn a new way to live. Part of this process is looking honestly at our behavior, changing our behavior, and then reconnecting with the world around us in a healthy way. 12-step programs believe that addiction is a progressive disease that manifests specific symptoms. Most (not all), of the medical community agrees.

The Center on Addiction states: “Addiction is a complex disease of the brain and body that involves compulsive use of one or more substances despite serious health and social consequences. Addiction disrupts regions of the brain that are responsible for reward, motivation, learning, judgment and memory. It damages various body systems as well as families, relationships, schools, workplaces and neighborhoods.”

As a disease, some form of treatment is required to halt its progression and return us to a maintainable state of health. Recovery is the process in which we do this. First, we stabilize (stop using), then we change our social environment (go to meetings, hang out with recovering people, etc.), then we work to understand and correct our behaviors, and finally, we work hard to maintain these changes.

One peer supporter shares their definition of recovery; "I will share my own definition of recovery. Over the course of my life, I accumulated a lot of trauma, guilt, shame, fear, and resentment. These experiences and feelings gradually covered up the original me. The child who was once filled with wonder, love, curiosity, and laughter; ended up feeling very uncomfortable in this world. I used drugs and bad behaviors to numb those uncomfortable feelings. My recovery has been a process of uncovering that original person, rediscovering who I really am underneath all the pain. Recovery has been a journey of self-discovery, healing, transformation, and re-connection. Over time, the recovery process has helped me change unhelpful ways of thinking, re-embrace the values I had compromised in my use, and helped me become the person I really wanted to be. The starting point for this was abstinence from all substance use and the stabilization of my mental health. So, my definition of recovery is this: Recovery is a journey of self-discovery and healing that involves a shift in perception, a transformation of personality, a change in behavioral patterns, and an alteration of the social environment. Through abstinence and a process of deep healing and change, one can re-connect emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually with the world around them in a healthy way." (Don Roberts)

What is Recovery Management? +

According to William White, "Behavioral Health Recovery Management (BHRM) is the time-sustained stewardship of personal, family and community resources to achieve the optimal health and functioning of those experiencing severe addiction and/or serious mental illness. As applied to alcohol and drug dependence, the goal of recovery management (RM) is the optimum level of global health and functioning of individuals experiencing such dependence—a goal that for many is achieved by full and sustained symptom remission and for others is achieved by decreasing the frequency and intensity of alcohol and other drug use and its related problems in tandem with lengthened and strengthened periods of remission and recovery. The focus of RM is to empower individuals/families to proactively manage such disorders over their entire course.

The term recovery management was coined to depict the process of sustained support through the developmental stages of addiction recovery. This concept grew out of and shares much in common with 'disease management' approaches to other chronic health problems, but use of the term recovery management is intended to emphasize the focus on quality of life outcomes as defined by the individual and family. Recovery management shares the disease management goal of effective stewardship of health care resources, but it places a greater value on the achievement of global health and the quality of life of the individual and 3 family."

What is a Recovery-Oriented System of Care (ROSC)? +

According to Linda Kaplan, "Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care (ROSCs) support person-centered and self-directed approaches to care that build on the strengths and resilience of individuals, families, and communities to take responsibility for their sustained health, wellness, and recovery from alcohol and drug problems. ROSCs offer a comprehensive menu of services and supports that can be combined and readily adjusted to meet the individual’s needs and chosen pathway to recovery. ROSCs encompass and coordinate the operations of multiple systems, providing responsive, outcomes-driven approaches to care. ROSCs require an ongoing process of systems improvement that incorporates the experiences of those in recovery and their family members. Recovery Management is a chronic care approach to the provision of client-directed management of services and supports for persons with chronic disorders at the provider level that reflects many of the elements of ROSCs. Unlike ROSCs, which are designed to address the full spectrum of needs of individuals with substance use problems and disorders, including screening, brief intervention, brief treatment, and early intervention, Recovery Management is a clinical approach taken from a chronic disease management approach applied in general medical settings. In recovery-oriented systems of care, the expectation is that contact with the client will continue after the acute stage of treatment is completed and that recovery support services are extended to family members and to people who may not have remained in treatment. Recovery management may include checkups in the form of follow-up phone calls, face-to-face meetings, or emails, as well as assertive linkage to recovery communities."