Exploring collaborative peer recovery coaching in the context of substance use disorders: an Australian work-based study

Exploring collaborative peer recovery coaching in the context of substance use disorders: an Australian work-based study

Substance use disorders stem from abuse and addiction to alcohol, tobacco, medications, and illicit substances. The prevalence of substance use disorder continues to significantly worsen. The economic, social and personal health costs of substance use disorder are well documented in the relevant literature. Clinical treatment and rehabilitation of substance use disorders are important and popular topics of study. Despite this, studies on peer-supported, recovery coaching, to mitigate substance use disorders, especially as it relates to professional practice, in Australia, are rare.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects and practice of a collaborative peer recovery coaching approach, in response to substance use disorders, as they relate to cultivation of recovery capital resources and goal attainment. This Australian work-based study aims to explore and seeks to contribute to professional practice, by investigating the experience the Collaborative Peer Recovery Coaching program, designed to assist clients in active addiction. The program is based the extant literature which provides an evidence-base, supporting the inclusion of its four practice delivery dimensions: being a collaborative; peer facilitated; recovery oriented; and coaching-based program.

The study is exploratory and adopted a constructivist, qualitative research design. In total, 18 participants were eligible to participate in this study. The data were in the form of transcribed video recordings of coaching sessions and documents associated with the evaluation of client progress. The analysis of the qualitative data included the use of assigning scores, as per the Assessment of Recovery Capital scale. Scoring is based on the number of recovery resource item responses, analysed from the observations of the recorded coaching sessions. A self-rating of goal attainment scores will also be evaluated.

Content analysis seeks to explore the extent to which: 1) clients can demonstrate improvements in recovery capital resources; 2) emergent patterns found across the recovery capital domains; and 3) participant self-rating of perceived goal attainment scores. The results suggest that improvements were shown across all ten recovery capital domains. Self-reported evidence of goal attainment scores, corroborated by the session data, also demonstrated positive results. The analysis of data revealed 13 treatment principles were utilised in the coaching program and had an effect. These insights informed the development of a recovery-oriented, case management tool, presented as the study artefact, called the Principle-centred Recovery Resource Register (P3R).

The empirical results reported herein, should be considered in the light of a number of limitations, including sample bias from a convenient sample. It is acknowledged that the sample represents; a) only those with addiction issues, that were attracted to programs of this nature, b) were associated with the organisation, recruited to this coaching program, c) and were limited to a geographic location. While the sample included a vast amount of data and 18 participants, the sample size does not allow for generalisation of the result findings.

Lastly, the study did not have a control group, and post-tests were not conducted. Therefore, the sustainability of the post-intervention results cannot be verified. Despite the limitations mentioned, it is proposed that the purpose and aims of the study, can make an original, previously unreported, and meaningful contribution, to professional alcohol and other drug practice.