Continuing Care and Recovery

Abstract

Reviews of the continuing care research literature indicate that interventions that feature longer planned durations and active efforts to deliver the treatment components are more likely to show positive effects than other interventions. However, this literature has a number of limitations, including a focus on inpatient samples, treatment completers, and traditional treatment models and interventions. In addition, these studies have not attempted to identify which patients are likely to benefit the most from continuing care. Finally, there have been few tests of interventions that attempt to build strengths and other positive factors consistent with a recovery-oriented approach to continuing care. Recent findings from three addiction disease management research programs that have attempted to address many of these limitations are presented and discussed. In addition, several research-based recommendations for improving continuing care are offered, including reducing patient burden, providing incentives for participation, combining continuing care with other services, actively linking patients to other recovery supports, and making the interventions more recovery-oriented. Finally, the potential problems associated with considering abstinence as a requirement for being "in recovery" while participating in extended continuing care or other disease management interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)