A Naturalistic Investigation Into the Processes and Themes of Recovery From Chemical Dependency

The research on recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction has generally focused on the causes of relapse. Although the study of the causes of relapse is an important endeavor, the results of this focus remain inconclusive. Understanding the process and themes of recovery is also an important question that remains a significant challenge. This study attempts to explain, in part, why it is that one person can have many relapse indicators and still thrive in recovery, while another who has multiple layers of support and opportunity for recovery, succumbs to addiction. This study also attempts to determine if and how the recovery process is different for participants who approach their recovery in the following three ways: (1) those who recover in a traditional manner by being professionally treated for their addiction and by using Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous to support their treatment (the AA group), (2) those who were professionally treated for their addiction, but did not use AA or NA to support their recovery (the TX group), and (3) participants who spontaneously or naturally recovered without the use of treatment or the support of AA or NA (the SR group). Methodology of this study was the use of a naturalistic inquiry. Seventeen participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. Findings of this study include the emergence of a new model of the process of recovery that was common for all 17 participants. This model included the following fours phases of recovery: the Initiation Phase, the Adjustment Phase, the Relapse Phase (eight of 17 participants had experienced a relapse), and the Transformation Phase. This process of recovery and associated phases emerged from 11 recovery themes and 56 categories or topics. There was no discernable difference in quality or level of recovery based on how the participants obtained or sustained their recovery. What is different is how the transformation took place. For example, members of the TX group rejected AA or NA, but found alternate support in family, community, their faith or internal processes, or a combination of the above. Members of the SR group tended to be more self-directed, and possessed a measure of clarity that facilitated their transition from active addiction to recovery in a rather smooth manner. Finally, members of the AA group used spirituality more extensively than the members of the TX or SR

How do recovering alcoholics, attending Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), view the phenomenon of relapse?

Within addiction-treatment, relapse from alcoholism is regarded as the most pressing problem facing recovering-alcoholics (Vaillant, 1988) as, in extreme cases, it proves fatal. However, professional research (comprising bio-medical and psychosocial approaches) fails to agree what constitutes a relapse and how best to secure its attenuation (Maisto et al., 2016). The dominant relapse-prevention model (Marlatt and Gordon, 1985) is not proving, universally, effective. Currently, psychosocial research construes alcoholism as a chronic, relapsing illness (Galanter, 2014). Yet some alcoholics, attending Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), appear to integrate their relapse-experiences positively, securing years of sustained-recovery. Understanding their recovery process may assist professional clinical practice where, historically, 90% of treated individuals relapse within the first year, post-partum. A purposive sample of six alcoholics, (four men/two women) affiliated with AA and experiencing abstinence-based, longer-term recovery (1-5 years), was recruited within the North West of England. Using semi-structured interviewing, my study applied a Rogerian, Person-Centred Approach methodology (PCA) (Rogers, 1951; 1957; 1961; etc.), to assist participants in describing, accurately, their phenomenological experiences of relapse within their lifespan. The objective was to re-present an empathic, descriptive and co-constructed expression of relapse within the context of their recovery-process, using their own words, but with a minimum of researcher intuited or inductive interpretation. The use of participant-validation was employed. Findings suggest that experiencing both relapse and alcoholism is highly subjective but that meaning-making, mercurially, does not have to be logically tenable. Though sustainable, recovery is never considered a stable phenomenon. The self-construct of being alcoholic, endorsed by AA's broad, phenomenological overview of alcoholism, requires the sacrifice of notions of self-efficacy (abstinence) as regards future alcohol consumption. However, this is replaced by an autonomous view of self, where alcohol-use is no longer salient. This empowers an individual both in developing coping-strategies and accepting a self-construct orientated towards living in active-recovery

Religiosity in Drug Use and Addiction Among African American Women: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the influence of religiosity on experiences in Celebrate Recovery (CR) groups for African American (AA) women in Central Georgia. AAs die from drug overdoses at rates that exceed all other racial groups in the United States. Although many treatment options exist, they remain largely ineffective at helping people addicted to drugs sustain sobriety. Religiosity has been shown to influence quality addiction treatment access. The theory that guided this study was Parsons’s classic structural-functional analysis of religious organization theory because it describes religion as an integrated system of beliefs or practices related to sacred aspects or things responsible for uniting one moral community to which all other things adhere. Semistructured interviews were conducted to collect data from 13 participants. A thematic analysis process was used to analyze the data and, ultimately, identify themes among the data

The Lived Experience of Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Synthesis

The purpose of this meta-synthesis was to review the available qualitative research on the lived experience of persons with bipolar disorder in order to find common themes that may enhance practitioner understanding. In this meta-synthesis, limited to studies conducted in the United States, 12 studies involving 234 participants met the authors’ inclusion criteria, and the following four major crosscutting themes, with subthemes, were identified: the process of acceptance of the diagnosis; its negative impact on relationships; internal coping strategies; and reliance on social support. Implications of these findings for direct practice are explored

Stem Cell Transplantation As A Dynamical System: Are Clinical Outcomes Deterministic?

Outcomes in stem cell transplantation (SCT) are modeled using probability theory. However the clinical course following SCT appears to demonstrate many characteristics of dynamical systems, especially when outcomes are considered in the context of immune reconstitution. Dynamical systems tend to evolve over time according to mathematically determined rules. Characteristically, the future states of the system are predicated on the states preceding them, and there is sensitivity to initial conditions. In SCT, the interaction between donor T cells and the recipient may be considered as such a system in which, graft source, conditioning and early immunosuppression profoundly influence immune reconstitution over time. This eventually determines clinical outcomes, either the emergence of tolerance or the development of graft versus host disease. In this paper parallels between SCT and dynamical systems are explored and a conceptual framework for developing mathematical models to understand disparate transplant outcomes is proposed.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures. Updated version with additional data, 2 new figures and editorial revisions. New authors adde

MIndfulness: The Missing Piece in Addiction Treatment

Mindfulness in addiction treatment is a young concept. Small samples of research and pilot programs show mindfulness is a positive approach to addiction treatment, but there is no concise theory as to how mindfulness should be implemented in addiction treatment. This research paper is designed to examine mindfulness in addiction treatment to aid in the success of sustained sobriety. Firsthand experience in addiction treatment as currently established, research of current mindfulness addiction treatment implementations, and qualitative interviews together suggest that mindfulness is a missing piece in addiction treatment

Recovery A Lifelong Journey: What it Means to Get Clean and Stay in Long-term Recovery

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study will be to describe long-term recovery (LTR) from drug addiction for African American (AA) recovering addicts (RAs) who have ten or more years in recovery and are members of Narcotics Anonymous (NA). The theory guiding this study is the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) (Stages of Change) (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1977) as it describes the process of how individuals change their habitual behavior/s by transitioning through five stages of change (precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance,). TTM indicates that positive behavioral change is an ongoing process which is significant to understanding these factors in relation to LTR as a continuing commitment to change one’s thinking, behaviors, and spiritual purpose to find a new way to approach life with the disease of addiction (DOA) without the use of drugs. Therefore, the purpose of this study will be threefold: (1) to describe and understand the turning point or initial surrender of RA’s active addiction and why they stop using drugs, (2) to delineate and understand the meaning of LTR from the perspective of AA RA’s lived experience/s as members of NA and, (3) to delineate and understand AA RA’s daily maintenance tools of recovery capital (social supports, spiritual practices, and 12-step affiliation) or sustainable practices of LTR. This phenomenological study will seek to understand the lived experience of AA RAs while delineating the factors that influenced them to seek recovery and the daily preservation practices that they apply to their lives to stay in LTR from a Christian worldview