A Strong Support System Is Key to Successful Recovery

By BuddyT

If you have a sincere desire to change, a strong support system and develop coping skills to deal with cravings when they come, you have a significantly better chance of achieving lasting recovery and there is scientific evidence to prove it.

A study of alcohol and substance abuse treatment outcomes from the past 30 years has found those elements significantly help those trying to recover from dangerous alcohol and drug use and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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Researchers reviewed studies involving alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder treatments and the effects on substance use and related outcomes in adults published since 1990. They discovered three concepts involved in treatment that were the most supported by data from 48 studies:

The three concepts key to recovery included:

• Self-efficacy
• Social support
• Managing cravings

Key Elements of Recovery

The study concluded that all three of these concepts were effective mechanisms of behavior change for people in treatment and recovery. The authors recommended that all three be incorporated into alcohol and drug treatment programs and clinical training for treatment providers.

Self-efficacy is the belief in one's ability to achieve a goal. Patients who had a sincere desire to change or were highly motivated to change had better outcomes, the study found.

Social support, in most of the studies reviewed, meant consistent participation in mutual-help groups. Most of the studies reviewed showed better outcomes for those who were committed to attendance in 12-step and other support meetings.

Managing craving or learning coping skills to deal with alcohol and drug cravings when they occurred was shown to be a key concept of successful recovery. For substance abuse disorder treatment managing cravings sometimes included pharmalogical treatments.

How Behavior Changes

"Effective treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and other substance use disorders (SUDs) depends on understanding how human behaviors change and incorporating that knowledge into clinical practice," according to a Research Society on Alcoholism news release. "An ongoing research effort continues to investigate varying treatment approaches and how they relate to recovery outcomes, but those findings have not been well synthesized into a useful format."

The authors believe these three constructs -- self-efficacy, social support, and craving -- are ready for implementation into clinical practice. "This means that the most urgent next step for the field is to translate this research evidence into everyday intervention design, training, and clinical practice," they concluded.

^{Source: Maisto, SA, et al. "From alcohol and other drug treatment mediator to mechanism to implementation: A systematic review and the cases of self-efficacy, social support, and craving." Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research 25 August 2024.}

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