A Roadmap to Recovery

Harm Reduction Definition

Harm Reduction encompasses a broad range of activities and interventions designed to improve the health and quality of life of individuals and communities. These include:

• Outreach and peer education to reduce risks associated with drug use
• Needle and syringe exchange programs (SEPs)
• Opioid substitution therapies (OST) for drug dependence, including methadone and buprenorphine
• Confidential counselling and testing for HIV, hepatitis, and other sexually transmitted or bloodborne infections
• Wound care
• Overdose prevention activities, including Naloxone (a prescription drug to prevent overdose) and first aid training
• Provision of primary care and treatment for HIV and other sexually transmitted or blood-borne infections
• Referrals to drug treatment programs

Abstinence Definition

This recovery philosophy expects an individual to completely stop the use of alcohol and other drugs as part of the treatment process.

Treatment Definition

Treatment is a wide term to describe the different ways that exist for treating substance use disorder. Even for a severe case, treatment can help. Often, you’ll receive a combination of the following therapies:

• Detoxification: You stop taking drugs, allowing the drugs to leave the body. You may need healthcare supervision to detox safely.
• Medication-assisted therapies: During detox, medicine can help control cravings and relieve withdrawal symptoms.
• Behavioural therapies: Cognitive behavioural therapy or other psychotherapy (talk therapy) can help deal with addiction’s cause. Therapy also helps build self-esteem and teaches healthy coping mechanisms.

Safe Injection Practices Definition

Safe Injection Practices encourage safer use for active injectors to prevent HIV and hepatitis, lowering disease transmission and reducing the number of syringes with HIV and hepatitis in the community which promotes greater public safety.

Initial Assessment Definition

An initial assessment is a set of questions asked of service users when they enter an addiction service. The information the service users provide is used to identify all drug and alcohol use, whether it is causing problems in their life and how serious or urgent these problems are for them. This assessment can also help to see if the service user is motivated to engage with the services offered and whether it might be more appropriate to refer the service user to a more appropriate service. The initial assessment should be carried out by a trained and competent person.

Care Plan Definition

A care plan is a set of actions agreed between the service user and the service and is developed by the service user with their key worker. It sets out goals to address the full range of needs that a service user may have and how they will be achieved. There are other issues (not just addiction) that can impact on a person’s total health and well-being. Therefore, a care plan may take into account other areas such as physical and mental health, personal development, social and economic circumstances and education.

Community Substance Misuse Service

Community based substance misuse services provide free, confidential, drug, alcohol and gambling treatment services. Their recovery teams include GP’s, Nurses, Counsellors, Drug Education Officers, Outreach Workers, Community Based Drugs Workers, Community Pharmacies and they work in partnership with other agencies and organisations. The Substance Misuse Services work with young people and adults who want help to deal with a drug or alcohol problem, and who want to build a healthier and happier life for themselves. They also provide support to friends, families and carers.

Residential Treatment Definition

Often, a residential and inpatient treatment centre is considered interchangeable, but there are a few key differences. Residential treatment isn’t usually as intensive as inpatient treatment, which provides a higher level of care than residential. This means someone will receive more medically intensive treatment with continuous monitoring. See the different residential treatment programs that provide a variety of services.

Residential Treatment Services

There are several different treatment programs, such as:

• Individual Therapy: Patients meet one-on-one with a therapist to talk about their issues and learn new ways to cope.
• Group Therapy: Many residential programs involve group therapy and educational group classes that allow people to learn about drug addiction and share their experiences.
• Withdrawal management: During detox, a patient goes through withdrawal from any substances in which they are dependent. Programs may include an isolated area to withdrawal or medical detox, in which doctors and nurses offer care and, if needed, medication to keep patients safe.
• 12-Step Recovery Program: Residential treatment programs will likely introduce patients to the 12-step model, along with other alternative groups including SMART (Self-Management and Recovery Training), a secular and science-based approach to treatment.

Relapse Prevention Plan Definition

A relapse prevention plan aims to limit or prevent relapses by helping you to anticipate circumstances that are likely to provoke a relapse. You can develop a strategy to cope with these high-risk situations in advance. For instance, learning that certain feelings, places, people, things, smells or sounds are common triggers for relapse.

Comprehensive Assessment Definition

The comprehensive assessment explores the impact of drug and alcohol use on all areas of a service user’s life and helps to identify all the supports that are needed. It is carried out by the service user with a trained and competent person in an addiction service. Areas that could be affected by addiction include mental and physical health, family and relationships, housing, education, legal issues and other areas. It may be necessary to use other services to meet the needs of the service user or refer them to a specialist service to assess a particular area of need. The comprehensive assessment should be reviewed on a regular basis as the needs of the service user changes.

Interagency Care Plan Definition

An Interagency Care Plan is a special care plan that is developed when two or more agencies are working with a service user. A care plan is a set of actions agreed between the service user and the service and sets out goals to address the full range of needs and how they will be achieved. An interagency care plan helps to ensure that goals that are set with each service do not conflict with each other. They help to ensure that each service is supporting each other and the service users to achieve their goals. An interagency care plan is usually monitored by a case manager, an identified 15 person within a substance misuse service who makes sure that all services providing care or treatment for a service user are working together.

Mutual Self Help Definition

Mutual Self Help (or Mutual Aid) approaches come in different types and can be of benefit to a wide range of people at different stages of their rehabilitation. The most widely provided are mutual aid groups based on 12 step principles, for example Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous. These are usually available outside of formal treatment but are some of the most commonly used. The benefits of these groups can be enhanced if staff within formal treatment services facilitate contact between them and the client and provide ongoing support.