Recovery: A Philosophy of Hope and Resilience
By Meredith Hogan Pond
“Programs that support recovery are at the heart of what we do here at CSAT,” said Catherine D. Nugent, LCPC, Chief of the Quality Improvement and Workforce Development Branch, Division of Services Improvement. “Each of these programs serves a specific area of need.”
“We are strictly a peer-to-peer support program for community-based organizations,” said Marsha Baker, M.S., CSAT’s Project Officer for RCSP. “Our goal is to help prevent relapse and provide social supports to help maintain and sustain recovery for those who are out of treatment and also for those who have not been to treatment but are in recovery.”
“Prevention programming supports people in recovery by wrapping necessary services around individuals, families, and communities, including evidence-based programs for young people to learn about addiction and the skills needed to avoid drug and alcohol use.”
—Frances Harding, Director,
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
“Mental health recovery is a journey of healing and transformation enabling a person with a mental health problem to live a meaningful life in a community of his or her choice while striving to achieve his or her full potential.”
—A. Kathryn Power, Director,
Center for Mental Health Services
“Focusing on recovery gives us a way to conceptualize services, including treatment, that meet people’s holistic needs in the
context of their community.”
—Dr. H. Westley Clark, Director,
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
For example, one of the 15 current grantees is “Community Bridges” and its peer support recovery services in Phoenix, AZ, and other parts of Maricopa County. Working in homeless and crisis centers as well as on the street, peer specialists help people who need access to services. Other RCSP grantee projects offer support to family members of people needing, seeking, or in recovery.
A 3-year, competitive discretionary grant program, ATR provides vouchers to clients for purchase of substance abuse clinical treatment and recovery support services. “Goals are to support client choice, expand service capacity, and increase faith- and community-based providers,” said Roula Sweis, M.A., Psy.D., CSAT’s ATR Team Leader. Currently 19 states and 5 tribal entities receive ATR funding. See SAMHSA News online, November/December 2007 for a feature story on ATR.
Partners for Recovery (PFR) is a policy-generating program that offers technical support and information to the field. Four white papers, which include recovery-related research, case studies, and extensive bibliographies, are posted on the PFR Web site.
Consumer-driven, PFR posts technical resources on the PFR Web site and serves as the “home base” for Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) information. Currently, PFR is developing a management and human resources toolkit designed to support employee wellness, including the dangers of substance abuse relapse.
In addition, a new publication from PFR will assist states and communities in advancing recovery-oriented systems change. A brochure is also in development on the rights of persons in medication-assisted treatment. The brochure is intended to help reduce the stigma surrounding seeking treatment for opioid addiction.
“We have a diverse portfolio of grantees,” said Linda Kaplan, M.S., LROSC’s Project Officer at CSAT. The program supports person-centered and self-directed approaches for substance abuse treatment and recovery services in communities with serious drug problems.
“There’s a recovery community center in the Bronx, services for women and families, adolescent programs, a screening program for college freshmen to lower dropout rates, services for individuals who are homeless, and more. Each grantee serves a particular population and provides support for local organizations,” Ms. Kaplan said.
What these grantee programs have in common is a focus on identifying gaps in substance abuse treatment capacity in their communities. The purpose is to expand the community’s ability to provide integrated community-based responses to a targeted, well-documented problem and improve the quality and intensity of services.
“Our program does have a clinical element,” Ms. Kaplan said. “In addition to expanding treatment services, grantees look for and find opportunities for links to primary care, mental health services, and housing.”
Now celebrating its 20th year, Recovery Month promotes the message that recovery from substance abuse in all its forms is possible.