eNewsletter
May 7, 2008
Recovery Voices Count, Science of Addiction & Recovery, June 18th Reception Learn more...
Rising! Recovery in Action
Rising! Recovery in Action is Faces & Voices of Recovery's publication. Each issue highlights the expertise of recovery advocates. Learn more...
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Other Publications
- Employment
- Incarceration & Reentry
- Recovery
- Restoration of Rights
- What is Recovery?
- Peer and Other Recovery Support Services
- Drug Courts
- Recovery Writings
- Miscellaneous
Employment
Roots of America in Recovery: Stories of Strength, Hope, Experience, and Success in the Workplace, 2006, Chris Iversen, MBA. This essay is a brief narrative and contains excerpts of several interviews the writer conducted three years ago at Venturetech in Houston, Texas. Venturetech’s owner, Larry Keast, is sympathetic to recovery issues in the workplace. Keast has create a website, www.americainrecovery.org, dedicated to spreading the word that recovering individuals can make quality contributions in the workplace. He encourages businesses and individuals to self-organize in the effort to work together to build healthy communities.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Care Environment “Toxic” for Persons in Recovery and Those Working in the Field. June 18, 2007. Vol. 16, Issue 24. This article, published by the Center for Substance Abuse Research, describes the work environment for individuals working in the addiction treatment profession.
Incarceration and Reentry
Community-Based Group Collaborates with State Corrections Agency to Provide Leadership Training for Incarcerated Women is an article written by Niki Miller about the New Hampshire Taskforce on Women & Recovery’s leadership training program for incarcerated women.
Potential for Change: Public Attitudes and Policy Preferences for Juvenile Justice Systems Reform is a report conducted by the Center for Children's Law and Policy which found that 70 percent of Americans view imprisoning young offenders without providing rehabilitation negatively, while 90 percent believe that nearly all young offenders have the potential for change.
Unlocking America: Why and How to Reduce America’s Prison Population, November 2007, JFA Institute. The report focuses on ways to reduce the prison population in the United States and makes several recommendations for changing current sentencing laws and correctional policies. Additionally, the report identifies the limits of current prison-based treatment and includes a discussion about decriminalizing non-violent drug offenses.
Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations, 2006, NIDA. The report outlines some of the proven components for successful treatment of drug abusers who have entered the criminal justice system, leading to lower rates of drug abuse and criminal activity. In addition to outlining treatment principles for criminal justice populations, NIDA’s publication includes answers to frequently asked questions about addiction as a chronic disease, co-occurring mental, emotional and environmental conditions that make relapse likely upon return to society, recommendations for the components of adequate treatment programs, cost-effectiveness of treatment, and the role of medication in treating offenders with substance abuse.
The Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy: Intersecting Voices: Impacts of Illinois’ Drug Policies, 2006. A study by Roosevelt University found that more people in Illinois prisons are there for drug possession than dealing, and that black drug offenders in prisons outnumber whites five to one.
Rebuilding Families, Reclaiming Lives: State Obligations to Children in Foster Care and Their Incarcerated Parents, 2006, by Patricia E. Allard & Lynn D. Lu. The Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law just released a new report, Rebuilding Families, Reclaiming Lives: State Obligations to Children in Foster Care and Incarcerated Parents. The report deals extensively with issues of re-entry and family-based treatment and makes several federal reform recommendations.
Life Sentence. September 23, 2007 by Christopher Shea. An article printed in the Boston Globe discusses the increasing use of the penal system to punish drug law offenders and further discusses the discrimination that is occuring in the system.
Recovery
Research Compendium updated by National Association for Children of Alcoholics. The data base contains entries on over 100,000 research studies, prevention and treatment materials, and policy papers and speeches, each abstracted and indexed according to a Drug and Alcohol Thesaurus developed jointly by SAMHSA and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
Manifestations of early brain recovery associated with abstinence from alcoholism, 2007, Brain, by, Andreas J. Bartsch, Gyorgy Homola, Armin Biller, Stephen Smith, Heinz-Gerd Weijers, Gerhard A. Wiesbeck, Mark Jenkinson, Nicola De Stefano, Laszlo Solymosi, and Martin Bendszus. New research maps the brain’s recovery from alcoholism. Researchers in Germany and Switzerland have found that the brain can recover most if not all of its capabilities when people stop drinking. Their results support the notion that brain regeneration can be attained rapidly by abstinence. MRI studies and cognitive tests were used to track the brain changes in a group of alcohol-dependent subjects as they embarked on the road to recovery.
CSAT National Summit on Recovery Conference Report. The Report from the CSAT National Summit on Recovery was presented on September 28-29, 2005. At the summit recommendations were discussed for moving the substance use disorders services field more toward a recovery-oriented approach. This report also serves as a useful guide to assist individuals and organizations submitting applications under the CSAT Request for Applicants (RFA) for the Addiction Technology Transfer Centers (ATTC) Program.
The Role of Social Supports, Spirituality, Religiousness, Life Meaning and Affiliation with 12-step Fellowships in Quality of Life Satisfaction among Individuals in Recovery from Alcohol and Drug Use, 2006, by Alexandre B.Laudet, Keith Morgan, William H. White. This article examines issues beyond no longer using alcohol and other drugs that contribute to individuals’ achieving a better life once they are alcohol and drug free.
Communal Housing Settings Enhance Substance Abuse Recovery, 2006, by Leonard A. Jason, Bradley D. Olson, Joseph R. Ferrari, Anthony T. Lo Sasso. In a recent experiment 150 individuals in Illinois were randomly assigned to either an Oxford House or usual-care condition after substance abuse treatment discharge. At the 24 month follow up, those in the Oxford House condition compared with the usual care condition had significantly lower substance use, significantly higher monthly income, and significantly lower incarceration rates.
Checkup System Catches Relapse Early and Facilitates Return to Treatment, 2006. A NIDA-funded study by Dr. Christy Scott and Dr. Michael Dennis of Chestnut Health Systems followed individuals for two years after treatment and found that supplementing regular recovery checkups with motivational interviewing and active linking to treatment can get relapsing patients back into treatment sooner and help them stay longer.
Alcohol Problems in Native America: The Untold Story of Resistance and Recovery – “The Truth About the Lie”, 2006, by Don Coyhis and William White. The history behind the Wellbriety movement and contemporary hope for addiction recovery in Native American communities is laid out in this new book. Information on the book is available online at www.whitebison.org or by calling 1.877.871.1495. Go to the Summer 2006 issue of Winds of Change for a recent review.
Remission and Relapse in the General Population, 2006. In a general population sample, alcohol use disorders have a favorable prognosis and may lack the chronic relapsing nature seen in treatment samples. These findings suggest that a substantial population of patients with alcohol use disorders could respond to brief or minimal interventions in primary care or other nonspecialty settings (Note: if link does not work, click here.)
AA Attendance and Abstinence, 2006. Patients who attend AA after treatment can be characterized as those who never connect, those who connect briefly, and those who maintain stable (and sometimes quite high) attendance. Even those who connect for a short while appear to benefit years later, though higher attendance was associated with a greater likelihood of long-term abstinence. Providers should reinforce AA attendance as part of a comprehensive effort to improve long-term abstinence. (Note: if link does not work, click here.)
Paths of Entry into Alcoholics Anonymous: Consequences for Participation and Remission, 2005, Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. Participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) concurrent with professional treatment appears to improve alcohol outcomes in people with alcohol use disorders. Remission was more common in people who had participated in both treatment and AA (e.g., 65% at 16 years) followed by AA only (57%) and treatment only (50%).
Outcomes for Medicaid Clients with Substance Abuse Problems Before and After Managed Care, 2005, The Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research. This study found that Medicaid patients who received addiction treatment experienced a 30% decrease in their overall medical costs under the program, according to a new study from researchers at Kaiser Permanente. Go to The Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research for information on how to receive a copy of the article.
Creating Communities for Addiction Recovery: The Oxford House Model, 2006, The Haworth Press, Inc. This book reviews important research conducted in a 13-year collaborative partnership between Oxford House (a community-based, self-run residential substance abuse recovery program) and DePaul University. It also presents practical guidelines for developing effective action research collaborative programs that can cultivate and maintain mutually beneficial community/research partnerships.
Economic Benefits of Drug Treatment: A Critical Review of the Evidence for Policy Makers*, 2005, Treatment Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania.
Speaking Out for Addiction Recovery, 2003, The Johnson Institute. Handbook to the Johnson Institute’s Recovery Ambassadors Workshop trainings.
Starting a Recovery School: A How-To Manual, 2005, Hazelden
Restoration of Rights
Restoring the Right to Vote, 2008, Erika Wood, Brennen Center for Justice
Drug Offenders: Various Factors May Limit the Impact of Federal Laws that Provide for Denial of Selected Benefits, 2005, Government Accountability Office.
Studies of Voting Behavior and Felony Disenfranchisement among Individuals in the Criminal Justice System in New York, Connecticut and Ohio, 2005, Ernest Drucker and Ricardo Barreras, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
After Prison: Roadblocks to Reentry. A Report on State Legal Barriers Facing People with Criminal Records*, 2004, Legal Action Center.
Are You in Recovery from Alcohol or Drug Problems? Know Your Rights, 2004, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This free brochure helps those in recovery understand their rights under Federal laws that protect against discrimination. It includes information about the legal consequences of alcohol- and drug-related conduct that can limit rights and opportunities and what an individual can do to prevent or remedy violations to his or her rights and overcome barriers due to past or current drug- or alcohol-related conduct.
Relief from the Collateral Consequences of a Criminal Conviction: A State-by-State Resource Guide, 2005, Margaret Colgate Love. The first comprehensive review of state and federal laws and practices relating to restoration of rights and obtaining relief from the collateral consequences of a criminal conviction. The study illustrates the extraordinary variety and complexity of state and federal laws that impose continuing burdens on convicted persons long after their court-imposed sentences have been fully discharged.
Losing the Right to Vote: Perceptions of Permanent Disenfranchisement and the Civil Rights Restoration Application Process in the State of Kentucky, 2006, Elizabeth A. Wahler, The Sentencing Project. This report shows how Kentucky’s application process for restoration of voting rights creates major barriers and will likely deter many people from voting. The report examines the perceptions of individuals on parole about Kentucky’s disenfranchisement law.
Toolkits to Combat Legal Barriers Facing Individuals with Criminal Records from The Legal Action Center and its National H.I.R.E. Network. A series of toolkits that organizations and individuals can use to advocate for the removal of unfair roadblocks facing individuals with criminal records.
What is Recovery?
In 2006, the Betty Ford Institute sponsored meetings leading to a series of articles that are in the October 2007 issue of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, published by Elsevier Inc. The working definition article below was developed by The Betty Ford Institute Consensus Panel. Faces & Voices appreciates the opportunity to provide a Commentary on the working definition, which is below.
We are grateful for the opportunity to share the following articles with the recovery community. We will be asking for your thoughts and opinions in the coming months. They appeared in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment Volume 33, Issue 3, Pages 221-332 (October 2007) published by Elsevier, Inc.
What is recovery? A working definition from the Betty Ford Institute, 2007, the Betty Ford Institute Consensus Panel. A group of interested researchers, treatment providers, recovery advocates, and policymakers was convened by the Betty Ford Institute to develop an initial definition of recovery as a starting point for better communication, research, and public understanding. Recovery is defined in this article as a voluntarily maintained lifestyle characterized by sobriety, personal health, and citizenship. This article presents the operational definitions, rationales, and research implications for each of the three elements of this definition.
What does recovery mean to you? Lessons from the recovery experience for research and practice, 2007, Dr. Alexandre B. Laudet, National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. This study examines recovery definitions and experiences among persons who self-identify as “in recovery.” Two questions are addressed: (a) Does recovery require total abstinence from all drugs and alcohol? (b) Is recovery defined solely in terms of substance use or does it extend to other areas of functioning as well? Most defined recovery as total abstinence. However, recovery goes well beyond abstinence; it is experienced as a bountiful “new life,” an ongoing process of growth, self-change, and reclaiming the self.
Addiction Recovery: Its definition and conceptual boundaries, 2007, William L. White. This essay discusses 10 questions critical to the achievement of a definition of recovery and offers a working definition that attempts to meet the criteria of precision, inclusiveness, exclusiveness, measurability, acceptability, and simplicity. The key questions explore who has professional and cultural authority to define recovery, the defining ingredients of recovery, the boundaries (scope and depth) of recovery, and temporal benchmarks of recovery (when recovery begins and ends).
Commentary on “Defining and Measuring ‘Recovery, 2007, Stephan Arndt and Pat Taylor. Faces and Voices of Recovery lauds the work of the Betty Ford Institute Consensus Panel in taking a long overdue step to develop an operational definition of recovery. The commentary includes a call for future Betty Ford Institute consensus panels to include representatives of the organized recovery community at the table to better inform discussions as well as concern over the choice of language for the definition of recovery. The words must be accurate and clear because of the importance of not fostering public stigma or discrimination.
Peer and Other Recovery Support Services
Peer-based Recovery Support Services: The Connecticut Experience An Interview with Phillip Valentine, William L. White, MA.This interview profiles one of the most successful grassroots recovery support organizations, outlines the kinds of services CCAR provides to support the process of long-term recovery, and describes a new potential component of the addiction treatment service continuum, the recovery community center.
Participation in community life by AA and NA members, by Linda Farris Kurtz and Michael Fisher. This article summarizes the criticism that 12-step fellowships have a negative influence on active involvement of members in mainstream society and contrasts experiences of community-involved members from Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) with those of members of Narcotics Anonymous (NA). The findings from the research suggest that long-term participation in a 12-step fellowship can lead members to wider participation in the community.
The Saved Sista Project: A Faith-Based HIV Prevention Program for Black Women in Addiction Recovery, authored by Cassandra Collins, David Whiters and Ronald Braithwaite describes a peer-led HIV prevention project in Atlanta.
A Faith-based Approach to Providing Peer-led Addiction Recovery Support Services, "Building a Common Vision for Recovery in America”(PowerPoint presentation and remarks), Mike Flaherty, White House Conference on Faith-based Inititiaves, September 21, 2007.
Discover what current research is showing us about the effectiveness of treatment and peer based recovery support services. In addition, this presentation discusses future recovery research questions that need to be answered in order to strengthen the general understanding, prevention, intervention and treatment of addiction. Peer Recovery Support Services teleconference, April 2007. Faces & Voices of Recovery held a teleconference with three speakers: Tom Hill with Health Systems Research, Bev Haberle with PRO-ACT, and Patty McCarhty with Friends of Recovery Vermont moderated by Tom Coderre. Telephone Recovery Support & the Recovery Model, 2006, Tom Broffman, PhD, Rick Fisher, LCSW, Bill Gilbert, LCSW, & Phillip Valentine, The Telephone Recovery Support project is one initiative that focuses on innovative ways to move towards “Recovery Management” (White, 2004). Recovery Management shifts from brief episodes of treatment intervention to supporting people over a longer period of time. RCSP Conference Report: Emerging Peer Recovery Support Services and Indicators of Quality, 2006, The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). SAMHSA/CSAT funded 28 grant projects under the Recovery Community Services Program (RCSP) last year. This report outlines the goals of peer-to-peer recovery support services projects and discusses indicators of quality in peer recovery support services. Recovery Coach Program: Successful Outreach, Engagement, and Case Management, 2006, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign conducted a five-year study to determine if outreach and engagement in substance abuse treatment services by TASC recovery coaches improved outcomes for these families. Substance-abusing parents who received TASC Recovery Coach Program (RCP) services experienced positive outcomes, as compared with the control group: For example, they were more likely to access treatment services, participate in treatment, and experience reunification with their children in a shorter amount of time. Community Recovery Centers: Recovery Assistance by Attraction is an article published by the Sober Living Network about the benefits of recovery community centers. Is Your Drug Court Fit for Recovery? A Recovery Check-up is a tool prepared by Ben Bass of the El Paso Alliance, Dan Griffin of the MN State Supreme Court and Tom Gilbert, that you can use to think about the ways that your program is building bridges to the recovery community and opportunities for individuals to achieve and sustain their recovery from addiction. A recovery focus will increase your ability to be successful in getting individuals the support they need while they are in your program and as they transition out into the community. Forgiveness Wheel is a trilogy of reflections on forgiveness by Richard Simonelli, a freelance writer and staff associate and media specialist for White Bison Inc.
Drugs, Brains and Behavior: The Science of Addiction is a new consumer booklet that explains the science of addiction that has been released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health. Drugs, Brains and Behavior: The Science of Addiction uses easy-to-understand language to explain that drug addiction is a brain disease that affects behavior. The booklet explains why people take drugs, why some people become addicted while others do not, how drugs work in the brain, and how addiction can be prevented and treated. The booklet emphasizes that drug addiction is a chronic disease, like diabetes or heart disease that can be managed successfully. Free print copies can be ordered by visiting the NIDA website. The Commercial Value of Underage and Pathological Drinking to the Alcohol Industry, May 2006, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA). The authors found that underage drinkers and people with alcohol problems consume between 37.5 and 48.8 percent of the value of all alcohol sold in the US, accounting for at least $48.3 billion and as much as $62.9 billion in alcohol sales in 2001. Visit The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine for further reading. Majority of Insured Workers with Substance Abuse Treatment Benefits Belong to Plans That Limit the Amount of Care Allowed, A Practice “Virtually Unknown in Medical Care” June 25, 2007 Vol. 16, Issue 25. The History of Gay People in Alcoholics Anonymous, by Audrey Borden. This book presents interviews, transcripts of recordings, and documents that detail the compelling history, recovery, and wisdom of gay people in A.A. Click here for more information. On Borrowed Time, by Michael Gecan. This article, published in Boston Review, discusses the budget crisis that a suburban county in Illinois is facing. Michael Gecan, of the Industrial Areas Foundation, writes about how the county is threatening to cut convalescent services, veterans’ services, housing assistance, breast cancer screening, and many other essential public functions. Drug Courts
Recovery Writings
Miscellaneous