What is needed in addiction recovery

During the Recovery Capital Conference of Canada, addiction recovery stakeholders engaged in conversations, connected and reconnect with colleagues, friends and allies – acknowledging challenges and shortfalls of implementing evidence-based models in the national and local healthcare system contexts.

The energy and commitment to address Canadians’ complex mental health and addiction issues was evident throughout the conference. We provided a brief opportunity to begin the conversation about Recovery Capital – where we are and where we need to go as systems of care, organizations and individuals.  Recovery Capital interacts with problem severity to shape the intensity and duration of support needed to initiate and sustain recovery.

There were two meetings, one for policy makers, and the other for community organizations.  Here are the results of the two Stakeholder Meetings,  Where are are now, and where we need to go.  Attendees were able to take back to their industry, the collective voice of where we need to go.

In addition to the Speaker Presentations, there were two Stakeholder Meetings, one for policy makers, and the other for community organizations.

‘Recovery Capital’, defined by Granfield and Cloud as “The breadth and depth of internal and external resources that can be drawn upon to initiate and sustain Recovery from alcohol and other drug problems”. Recovery Capital is not a fixed value, it diminishes during active addiction and increases during sustained recovery.  Recovery Capital may be grouped in four categories – internal: human and physical; and external: social and cultural.

Artwork Credit

Avril Orloff (www.outsidethelines.ca) and Kate Sutherland http://www.katersutherland.com/) to facilitate and graphically record the process.