Recovery rhetoric: a critical discourse analysis of substance use recovery

ABSTRACT

Dominant discourses of recovery permeate substance use research, policy, and practice recommendations around the world, exercising the power to shape the identities of people with substance use issues. Drawing on Foucauldian and intersectionality theories, this study explores power operations embedded in recovery discourses constructing a certain type of recovery for a certain type of subject. A critical discourse analysis using van Leeuwen’s social semiotic approach examines two Canadian federal recovery documents to consider the discursive representation of people with substance use issues, legitimization of recovery, and interpretation of space. Findings suggest that substance use recovery discourses are entwined in a complex web of neoliberal, biomedical, and moral discourses by which stigmatized identities are (co)constructed at micro, mezzo, and macro levels. This study offers a unique and relevant opportunity to complicate the dominant recovery literature by challenging oppression, deconstructing normative identities, and facilitating the empowerment of marginalized populations.

KEYWORDS:

• Recovery
• substance use
• critical discourse analysis
• identity
• stigma

Disclosure statement

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

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada: [Grant Number 752-2016-1135].

Notes on contributors

Sandra R. McNeil

Sandra McNeil, PhD, is a Research Assistant, and Course Instructor at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. Research interests include recovery, substance use, mental health, stigma, rural communities, and critical social work research, education, and practice. Sandra is Registered Social Worker and mental health therapist in a clinical setting. She is an Ontario Graduate Scholar and the recipient of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellowship.