Voices from the rooms and programs: recovery capital speaks

ABSTRACT

People recovering from substance use disorders have a variety of options from which to choose to help them achieve their goal of sobriety. Often, they seek the assistance of peer- run 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Others may seek professional help through residential or outpatient treatment programs, while some use both types of interventions. Both intervention options offer people in recovery viable assistance. With this in mind, the goal of this study was to further understand the factors influencing recovery (see, for further details¹

¹ Author’s Note: The previous 2018 paper and the current paper were based on my dissertation.

). Those factors, conceptualized as ‘recovery capital,’ have a consistent and positive impact on recovery. This study conceptualized recovery capital to include Alcoholic Anonymous, spirituality, social support, and physical capital. The author reviewed these factors through a historical and empirical discussion of Alcoholics Anonymous and treatment effectiveness.

KEYWORDS:

• Alcoholics Anonymous
• macro social work practice
• micro social work practice
• recovery capital
• spirituality
• substance use treatment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ Author’s Note: The previous 2018 paper and the current paper were based on my dissertation.

² In the questionnaire, the question read ‘What was the least beneficial in the treatment your received.’ This typographical error does not appear to have impacted the findings.