Wendy Dossett and Wulf Livingston discuss various factors at an individual, system and societal level that help people recover from addiction. Dr. Wendy Dossett is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Chester and Principal Investigator of the Higher Power Project. She is in long-term recovery from a serious drinking problem. Dr. Wulf Livingston is a Professor of Alcohol Studies at Wrexham Glyndwr University, and has been working in the addiction recovery field for around 25 years. [7 films, 10 mins 40 secs]
Power of Community [1’54”]
‘People together, they are more than the sum of their parts…. They can do more together…. We hear these phrases that “Recovery is contagious”, and it is. So you need a community in which that contagion can happen, in which it can be seeded and passed on.’
Choice [1’55”]
‘We need a plural environment of recovery that doesn’t have harm reduction and recovery pitched against each other. And need an environment where there’s like of menu of different things that people can do, and that they’re not seen as mutually exclusive.’
Signposting, Communication & Collaboration [2’19”]
‘… people don’t even realise that there are all these community-based resources available to them, freely available, and they’re not signposted to them.’
Don’t Dismiss Things Based on Anecdote [1’16”]
‘People’s personal experience obviously is so powerful for them, that it can become, “This is the only way.”’
The Need for Neutral Investigation [1’18”]
‘We could possibly do with a little less evangelicalism at times.’
Skills to Navigate [0’57”]
‘Giving people the skills to navigate what’s available. One reason I think 12-step facilitation is a good thing.’
Try More Than Once [1’01″]
‘Nothing’s going to work if you just instantly reject it…’
