Pathways to addiction recovery: challenges and facilitators in achieving behaviour change
Professor Wouter Vanderplasschen
Department of Special Needs Education, Ghent University, Belgium
Abstract
Alcohol and drug addiction are having an ever-increasing impact on health and well-being of individuals and families and are also profoundly affecting community life in neighbourhoods and society at large. Consequences of substance misuse are not limited to health problems or financial and social harms, but extend much further and often have long-lasting effects.
Although addiction is a persistent and complex problem and treatment effectiveness is limited, international research shows that recovery from addiction is relatively common and is in fact the rule rather than the exception. Several of these findings have been confirmed in our own research, including a focus on individuals’ lived experiences and their recovery pathways. During this presentation, we will explore what recovery entails and how people shape it, as well as the challenges they face.
We will examine several recent studies on addiction recovery and what does (not) help to promote recovery, with a strong focus on the lived experiences of people in recovery. Belonging and connectedness with others and peer-based recovery support services are central to addiction recovery, including timely and appropriate support across various domains (continuing care, peer-based services, housing, employment and education, community centres, etc.).
Zur Person
Wouter Vanderplasschen (PhD) is professor and head of the Department of Special Needs Education (Orthopedagogiek) at Ghent University (Belgium). He is a senior researcher in the field of substance use treatment and addiction recovery and leads the Recovery and Addiction research cluster at the department. His PhD-research focused on the implementation and evaluation of case management for drug users with multiple and complex problems.
For the past 25 years, Wouter Vanderplasschen has studied the accessibility, effectiveness and quality of care in substance use treatment and addiction recovery in general. His core research interests are recovery, recovery capital, case management, treatment methods, vulnerable groups, therapeutic communities, continuity of care, quality of life and evaluation of treatment.