The recovery of people with addictive behaviours and dependencies: intervention strategies of social workers

Background:

The knowledge of the importance of recovery of people with addictive behaviours and dependencies (ABD), combined with the complexity of the process and the multiplicity of associated factors, has motivated a study developed through an interinstitutional collaboration of seven public entities, linking the academy to entities that intervene in the field of ABD. This study published its results in 2020, but the richness of the data obtained invited to further analysis. This paper will focus on the intervention of social workers in a recovery process, in the context of treatment services, exploring the main strategies used to achieve the desired objectives. 

Methods:

The study was a qualitative research, carried out according to a mixed case study plan (multi-case and multi-perspective), which involved social workers, people with ABD, families, and other stakeholders (51 interviews and 21 questionnaires). It has a national scope and combines the descriptive and reflective components of 18 different recovery processes. The content analysis uncovered the strategies developed by social workers in the recovery processes and this paper will explore these categories and their importance in professional practice.

Results:

The discourse of the interviewees revealed regularities and patterns that allowed the construction of analytical categories organized according to the intervention strategies developed by social workers. These strategies resulted from the planned, sequential and intentional intervention that was developed by social workers during the recovery process, aiming to act upon the diagnosed vulnerability conditions, in order to promote changes at the micro, meso and macro levels.

Conclusion:

The data analysis allowed the identification of different patterns of strategies associated with the recovery process of people with ABD: strategies that promote interaction and tacit agreements; awareness-raising strategies linked to individual and collective capacity building; creative strategies related to the promotion of interaction between systems; collaborative strategies in the promotion of cooperation and co-construction of social alternatives, and awareness-raising strategies for diminishing stigma. 

Social workers often develop multi-level strategies to address the complexity of social issues experienced by individuals with ABD. These strategies shape professional practice and mirror the work processes used by social workers, and it is in the combination of them that lies the strength and perseverance of their work in recovery and social reintegration.