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Over most of the substance use treatment field’s early history, leaders defined recovery simply as long-term abstinence from alcohol or drug use. Not much else about the patient’s life found its way into the equation. That perspective has changed dramatically in recent years, for the better. Recovery is now commonly viewed as encompassing all the personal, social and community rewards that being substance-free can bestow on the recovering person.
That new perspective has both lessened some expectations about treatment and created new ones. Treatment alone is no longer considered sufficient for producing lasting outcomes. In a service system where few individuals have access to long-term inpatient or outpatient treatment, patients require a broader continuum of care over time, encompassing non-treatment recovery support services. Responsibility for the patient’s success is now shared among a more diverse community of support.
Yet this also means providers of primary treatment will function best when they forge productive relationships with the other organizations that make up the continuum of care. A fully functioning “recovery ecosystem” has the potential to exceed traditional siloed care in improving individual, family and community outcomes.
In today’s environment, addiction treatment providers are asked to define their mission well beyond the data that document patient substance use. Demand has intensified for individualized treatment that builds on patient strengths while addressing areas of need. “Recovery capital” refers to the sum total of resources available to support an individual’s recovery journey. These resources can’t be measured in monetary terms alone.
As described by recovery-focused scholar David Best, Ph.D., a social researcher and professor of addiction recovery at Leeds Trinity University in the U.K., recovery capital comprises three categories of resources: personal (traits such as resilience and healthy coping skills), social (links to individuals and groups that encourage recovery-affirming activities) and community (access to treatment, recovery support and other essential services such as housing and job support).
Dr. Best has advanced use of the REC-CAP, an evidence-based assessment and recovery planning tool measuring patients’ recovery capital, within a growing number of substance use treatment and peer support organizations. He also has assisted in developing other scales that measure recovery capital.
Patient outcomes inevitably will improve as programs tailor their clinical interventions to the individual strength and deficit profiles of their clients. This requires a comprehensive approach, one that depends in part on building strong relationships with other resources in the community.
Providers will gain a boost in achieving these goals when they invest in systems that maximize sound decision-making and coordinated care/support. We at Sigmund Software stand ready to help you achieve these crucial patient care objectives.
