Springer Substance Abuse Recovery in College: Community Supported Abstinence (Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development)

Substance Abuse Recovery in College explains in authoritative detail what collegiate recovery communities are, the types of services they provide, and their role in the context of campus life, with extended examples from Texas Tech University’s influential CSAR (Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery) program. Using data from both conventional surveys and end-of-day daily Palm Pilot assessments as well as focus groups, the book examines community members’ experiences. In addition, the importance of a positive relationship between the recovery community and the school administration is emphasized. Topics covered include: The growing need for recovery services at colleges. How recovery communities support abstinence and relapse prevention. Who are community members and their addiction and treatment histories. Daily lives of young adults in a collegiate recovery community. Challenges and opportunities in establishing recovery communities on campus. Building abstinence support into an academic curriculum. This volume offers clear insights and up-close perspectives of importance to developmental and clinical child psychologists, social workers, higher education policymakers, and related professionals in human development, family studies, student services, college health care, and community services. Review From the reviews: "One might expect to see a text book entitled Substance Abuse in College, not Substance Abuse Recovery in College which feels like an oxymoron. While most college campuses are challenged with providing effective prevention and education resources for students using and abusing substances, very few colleges focus on the recovery population. That is why th text is worth reading. Unique in its contribution to not only the field of adolescent development and addiction recovery, the text offers Higher Education another avenue for approaching and developing a comprehensive alcohol and other drug strategy: on campus recovery support. Additionally, it offers students in recovery hope, while demonstrating to all students that college life is not synonymous with substance abuse. ... This text is an important read for clinicians, higher education policy makers, health and human services and related professionals in human development." Teresa Wren Johnston, MA, LPC, July 2010 "For many, the term ‘recovery’ conjures up images of worn out middle-aged former addicts or alcoholics. Severely dependent individuals often use drugs and/or drink for two decades or longer before seeking treatment or some other form of help (e.g., 12-step fellowships such as Alcoholics and/or Narcotics Anonymous). Most of what we know about the recovery experience and the type of environment and strategies that support recovery comes from studies conducted among individuals enrolled in treatment programs, individuals in their late 30’s or older. However, substance use typically starts in adolescence. The main contribution of Substance Abuse Recovery in College: Community Supported Abstinence, edited by H. Harrington Cleveland, Kitty S. Harris, and Richard P. Wiebe, is a message of hope: it demonstrates that alcohol and drug problems need not inexorably progress unchecked for years, even decades, shattering lives and dreams along the way, before the individual seeks recovery. Rather, the book demonstrates how youths with substance use problems can simultaneous nurture their recovery and achieve, even thrive, academically. The book describes the Collegiate Recovery Communities at Texas Tech University (TTU), a youth oriented recovery community designed to support a substance-free life and to promote addiction recovery in the context of institutions of higher education that are too often ‘abstinence-hostile.’ Young people in the process of overcoming substance use problems often forego pursuing a higher education, arguably among the most important assets to a achieving ‘a good life’ bu