Narrating the journey of sustained recovery from substance use disorder

Abstract

BackgroundThe reported high rate of relapse in the context of an ever-increasing rate of substance abuse internationally and in South Africa together with the fact that the topic of sustained recovery from Substance Use Disorder (SUD) appears to be totally neglected in extant literature and research agendas motivated the researchers to conduct this investigation. The aim was to obtain an in-depth understanding of how individuals recovering from a SUD experience and sustain their recovery in order to fill the gap in the knowledge base.MethodsA qualitative research approach was followed, employing a narrative and phenomenological research design alongside an explorative, descriptive and contextual strategy of inquiry. Fifteen participants were purposefully recruited; and data were collected by means of individual, face-to-face interviews. Schlossberg’s Transition Process Model (1981) (Schlossberg NK, The Counselling Psychologist 1981;9(2):2-18, Schlossberg NK, Journal of Employment Counselling 2011;48:159-162, Anderson ML et al., Counselling adults in transition: linkingSchlossberg’s theory with practice in a diverse world., 2012) served as a theoretical framework and provided the backdrop to, and foundation for, the presentation of the research findings.ResultsParticipants’ entry into recovery was triggered by an internal or external crisis caused by chemical substance abuse. They had to embrace a psychological mind set change, involving commitment to a new way of life in order to sustain their recovery. This, among others, was facilitated by participants’ acceptance of the concept of ‘disease of addiction’ or finding a new faith-based identity. The 12-Step programme and further education and development were found to spiritually support sustained recovery. Strong ongoing support from specialised substance abuse support and/or religious groups, interpersonal relationships with family, spouses and sponsors as well as supportive work environments played a major role in sustaining recovery. The act of helping others further helped the participants to sustain their own recovery.ConclusionRegardless of the pathway of recovery, there are key aspects that appear to aid sustained recovery. In grouping these according to the four S’s in Schlossberg’s Transition Process Model (Schlossberg NK, The Counselling Psychologist 1981;9(2):2-18, Journal of Employment Counselling 2011;48:159-162, Anderson ML et al., Counselling adults in transition: linkingSchlossberg’s theory with practice in a diverse world., 2012): self, situation, strategies and support, they seem to facilitate the adaptation to transition from addiction to sobriety. Internal psychological and spiritual resources in terms of self; support (from family, church and support groups); strategies to combat cravings and deal with life problems; and avoiding and managing risk-inducing situations to strengthen recovery.

The role of social mechanisms of change in women’s addiction recovery trajectories

“…Further qualitative research highlights that strong interpersonal relationships for a sample of 15 (nine men and six women) have also been shown to help support and sustain recovery (Stokes et al, 2018), and marital relationships have been found to improve mental health generally for men and women (Simon & Barrett, 2010) and are associated with reduced substance use (Simmons et al, 2009). People or groups perceived by research participants as being important have also been acknowledged as a trigger for recovery (Dingle et al, 2015), demonstrating the capacity for positive relationships to encourage positive recovery-orientated change.…”

Virtual Nature as an Intervention for Reducing Stress and Improving Mood in People with Substance Use Disorder

“…Individuals who participate in treatment for a prolonged period, such as in a residential treatment program, are more likely to stop using substances, reduce criminal engagement, and improve their ability to function [4]. Although abstaining from using a substance and recovery are possible, the process to get there is not an easy one [5].…”

Determining the Effects of Psychosocial and Spiritual Support Among Patients With Substance Abuse: A Scoping Review

“…Seven studies were conducted in the United States of America (Avants et al, 2001;Cucciare et al, 2016;Heinz et al, 2010;Pardini et al, 2000;Schoenthaler et al, 2015;Stahler et al, 2007;Sung & Chu, 2013), six studies were conducted in Iran (Aghakhani et al, 2017;Jalali et al, 2019;Khaledian et al, 2017;Maarefvand et al, 2015;Navidian et al, 2016;Noormohammadi, 2017); two studies in Malaysia (M.H. et al, 2018;Rashid et al, 2014); and one study each was conducted in Vietnam (Khuong et al, 2018), South Africa (Stokes et al, 2018), and United Kingdom (Marsden et al, 2019), respectively. The most used study designs were cross-sectional study (Avants et al, 2001;Cucciare et al, 2016;Khuong et al, 2018;M.H.…”

“…The most used study designs were cross-sectional study (Avants et al, 2001;Cucciare et al, 2016;Khuong et al, 2018;M.H. et al, 2018;Noormohammadi, 2017;Pardini et al, 2000), randomized controlled trial (Jalali et al, 2019;Khaledian et al, 2017;Maarefvand et al, 2015;Marsden et al, 2019), and qualitative study (Aghakhani et al, 2017;Rashid et al, 2014;Stokes et al, 2018). There was also retrospective study (Sung & Chu, 2013), prospective study (Schoenthaler et al, 2015), case-control study (Stahler et al, 2007), qualitative and quantitative study (Heinz et al, 2010), and quasi-experimental study (Navidian et al, 2016).…”

“…Bridges program promote treatment retention, attendance and drug abstinence. (Stokes et al, 2018) Narrating the journey of sustained recovery from substance use disorder.…”