strengths — Recovery Stories

Factors Facilitating Recovery: (Gaining) Recovery Capital

June 15, 2021 by David Clark

Here’s the last of the 11 factors facilitating recovery that I wrote about in my book Our Recovery Stories: Journeys from Drug and Alcohol Addiction. Just because it is last, does not mean it is the least important factor. In fact, it is one of the most important!

Recovery is better predicted by someone’s assets and strengths, rather than their ‘pathologies’, deficits and weaknesses. People can make progress by identifying and building on their personal assets and strengths. Interventions to facilitate recovery must focus on helping individuals build their recovery strengths, more often referred to as ‘recovery capital’.

Recovery capital is the quantity and quality of internal and external resources that one can bring to bear on the initiation and maintenance of recovery [1]. It takes three main forms:

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: addiction, assets, holistic, outcomes, recovery, recovery capital, strengths, support

Addiction Recovery

April 27, 2021 by David Clark

Here is a section about the nature of addiction recovery from my new eBook, Our Recovery Stories: Journeys from Drug and Alcohol Addiction.

“There have been various definitions of recovery proposed over the years. For the purpose of this chapter, I am going to use a definition proposed by leading addiction recovery advocate William (Bill) L White [1]:

‘Recovery is the experience (a process and a sustained status) through which individuals, families, and communities impacted by severe alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems utilize internal and external resources to voluntarily resolve these problems, heal the wounds inflicted by AOD-related problems, actively manage their continued vulnerability to such problems, and develop a healthy, productive, and meaningful life.’

‘What is Recovery?: David Best

March 4, 2021 by David Clark

Here is a blog I wrote about David Best in May 2013. At that time, he had done a huge amount for the addiction recovery field and for the Recovery Movements in the UK and Australia, in terms of his research, writings, advocacy and a wide range of other recovery-based activities. Where he gets his energy from, I have no idea?

I thought it was worth showing what David thinks about the question, ‘What is Recovery’. I’ve followed his arguments and included quotes from his excellent book, Addiction Recovery: A Movement for Social Change and Personal Growth in the UK.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: belonging, community, david best, hope, identity, recovery, role model, strengths, treatment

Why the Need for Recovery-based Care?

March 4, 2021 by David Clark

A resonating message I have picked from many people affected by serious substance use problems over the years is their desperate need for hope (that they can recover) and understanding (of how to recover). Here is a blog I originally posted in May 2013.

There is a dearth of readily accessible information on how to achieve recovery, information that is also relevant to the day-to-day struggles and obstacles that people face in trying to overcome addiction and related problems. Many people do not know anyone who has recovered from addiction. Many find the treatment system to be disempowering and lacking in hope.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: addiction, care system, community, empowerment, recovery, Recovery Movement, recovery-based care, strengths, treatment

‘How Do I Know a Treatment Service is Recovery-oriented?’: Mark Ragins

March 4, 2021 by David Clark

Some treatment services today say they are doing recovery—using recovery-based care—when they are not in fact doing so. So how do you know that you are going to receive genuine recovery-based care when you sign up to a treatment service claiming to be recovery-oriented?

Here is some help from Mark Ragins, a leading figure in the mental health recovery field, about what to look for in a service offering recovering-based care. Mark may be talking about mental health recovery, but what he says is of relevance to addiction recovery. I first posted this blog back in June 2103.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: addiction, collaboration, goals, hope, medical model, mental health, person-centred, recovery-based, strengths

Classic Blog – ‘How do I know a treatment service is recovery-oriented?’ by Mark Ragins

November 12, 2014 by David Clark

Some treatment services today say they are doing recovery – using recovery-based care – when they are not in fact doing so. So how do you know that you are going to receive genuine recovery-based care when you sign up to a treatment service claiming to be recovery-oriented?

In summary, Mark emphasises three key features of recovery-based care:

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: addiction, collaboration, goals, hope, medical model, mental health, recovery-based, strengths

’Self-Determination in Mental Health Recovery: Taking Back Our Lives (Part 2)’ by Mary Ellen Copeland

October 27, 2014 by David Clark

Breaking Down Barriers to Self-Determination
There are many assumptions about “mental illness” and mental health that must change, and are changing, that will facilitate the personal process of self-determination and taking back our lives.

When I first decided to reach out for help to deal with the difficult feelings I had been having all my life, I went through a lengthy questioning process (assessment) that had little or nothing to do with the way I was feeling.

I was given a diagnosis, told what that diagnosis would mean in terms of what I could expect in my life, and given medications that I was told I must take, probably for the rest of my life. Little attention was paid to my “out of control” lifestyle, my abusive relationship and my history of childhood sexual and emotional abuse and trauma.

‘Amplified Recovery’ by Bill White

February 24, 2014 by David Clark

“There is nothing about a caterpillar which would suggest that it will become a butterfly.” Buckminster Fuller

Recovery from a life-threatening condition can bring far more than the removal of pain and sickness from an otherwise unchanged life. Confronting one’s mortality through the experiences of illness and recovery can bring unexpected gifts.

Surviving heart disease, cancer, addiction or other life-threatening experiences can be an unlikely source of renewal and personal transformation – catalysts for living more fully and more meaningfully. There may be something to that notion of being stronger at the broken places.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: addiction, amplified recovery, inperfection, pain, recovery, recovery carrier, remission, strengths

My Favourite Blogs: How do I know a treatment service is recovery-oriented?

February 1, 2014 by David Clark

This is one of the most important blogs on the Recovery Stories website.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: addiction, collaboration, goals, hope, medical model, mental health, recovery-based, strengths

‘Five Things Resilient People Do’ by Jennifer Mattson

January 23, 2014 by David Clark

Came across this excellent piece on Thrive – the Kripalu blog on yoga, health and wellness.

‘Why do some people bounce back after a major tragedy or illness, while others seem derailed by life’s daily challenges? The answer, in a word, is resilience.

At its core, resilience is the capacity to handle difficult moments. That could be a major trauma such as post-traumatic stress after a military deployment; a chronic source of tension, such as parenting a sick child; or a sudden loss—of a loved one, a job, a marriage, or a home, to fire or flood.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: authenticity, connections, kripalu, mindfulness, positivity, reaching out, resilience, strengths

Recovery Stories Highlight: ‘What is Recovery?” by David Best

January 11, 2014 by David Clark

I thought I’d devote Saturdays to re-publishing some of my favourite blogs. Here is the first:

‘David Best has done a huge amount for the addiction recovery field and for the Recovery Movements in the UK and Australia, in terms of his research, writings, advocacy and a wide range of other recovery-based activities. Where he gets his energy from, I have no idea?

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: belonging, community, definition, hope, identity, role model, strengths, treatment

How do I know a treatment service is recovery-oriented?

June 4, 2013 by David Clark

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: addiction, collaboration, goals, hope, medical model, mental health, recovery-based, strengths

‘What is Recovery?”: David Best

May 28, 2013 by David Clark

David Best has done a huge amount for the addiction recovery field and for the Recovery Movements in the UK and Australia, in terms of his research, writings, advocacy and a wide range of other recovery-based activities. Where he gets his energy from, I have no idea?