Living in a Sober Living House: Conversations with Residents

Abstract

Background: Twenty-one residents in a sober living facility in a medium sized Midwestern city were interviewed and were asked to talk about their experiences in selecting and residing in a sober living facility. Methods: Respondents were also asked to detail their thoughts about the efficacy of sober living and their ideas about successful recovery. Interviews were semi-structured in order to provide opportunity for in-depth responses. Results: Based on an analysis of the interview transcripts the following themes were presented for analysis and discussion: The role of early trauma, the strengths of sober living, the challenges to sober living and keys to sobriety. Discussion: Discussion of contradictions between present findings and the literature as well as recommendations for future research and practice are presented.

Keywords:

• Sober living
• recovery
• 12-step programs
• relapse

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.