Peer Support & Addiction Recovery: A Group Work Model Analysis

This essay examines the use of peer support group work in facilitating addiction recovery for individuals aged 18-65. It highlights the prevalence of substance misuse and its impact on individuals' health and well-being. The essay discusses the benefits of group work, such as learning new coping mechanisms, overcoming societal challenges, and attaining catharsis. It also emphasizes the importance of effective group planning, development, and facilitation, referencing Tuckman's team development model and Benson's "Love and Will" model. The essay concludes that group work offers valuable opportunities for individuals to share experiences, learn from others, and ultimately achieve recovery from addiction.

Running head: SOCIAL CARE, JUSTICE AND RECOVERY
SOCIAL CARE, JUSTICE AND RECOVERY: AN ANALYSIS OF ADDICTION
RECOVERY THROUGH PEER SUPPORT
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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As stated by Lindsay and Orton (2014), group work had become an important part of the
different social care services which are being offered to the individuals for recovering from the
social issues or the mental issues that they suffer from. Henderson and Thomas (2012) have
noted that the usage of group work within the domain of social care offers certain distinctive
advantages in comparison to the one-on-one social care services. It helps the individuals to
adequately discuss the issues that they are facing with others, learn new coping mechanisms
from the group members who suffer from similar issues, form their own identify within a social
group and others (Brandler and Roman 2015). These in turn had given rise to the extensive usage
of the construct of group work within the domain of social care. However, aspects like group
dynamics, group formation, group development, group management, ensuring that the individual
social care needs of the group members are being addressed adequately and others which need to
be taken into account during the usage of peer support in social care (Beckwith et al. 2019).
Thus, it becomes important for the service providers to take into account these issues and also
resolve the same effectively so as help the individuals to recover from their issues. The objective
of this paper analyze the manner in which the group work theory of peer support can be used for
the purpose of facilitating recovery of the individuals related to the age bracket 18 - 65 year from
substance misuse.
The adults related to the age bracket of 18-65 years suffering from the issue of substance
misuse have been selected as the service user group in this paper. Best et al. (2018) found that an
important problem that the different individuals are presently facing can be attributed to the
aspect of substantial abuse or substance misuse and their inability to overcome this particular
issue. According to Who.int (2020), in the year 2017 alone more than 11.9 million people all
over the world died because of the issue of substance misuse or substance abuse. More

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importantly, presently around 38.3% people from all over the world indulge in the consumption
of alcohol, drugs and other kinds of substances and out of them around 17.9% people suffer from
the issue of substance abuse (Who.int 2020). Apart from death, the issue of substance abuse also
gives rise to various kinds of health ailments in the individuals like liver issues, mental health
issues and others which in turn substantially reduce the quality of life of the individuals (Petersen
and McBride 2002). Ezhumalai et al. (2018) have noted that the consumption of different kinds
of substances had increased among the individuals especially among the young people and they
like to consume the different forms of substances at various events, social gatherings or merely
for relaxation purposes. However, the issue arises since it had been seen that the majority of the
individuals in the longer run become addicted to the substances and thereby start to miss-utilize
the same. Furthermore, the cheaper price of the different kinds of substances makes it easier for
the individuals to purchase the same and thereby to abuse the same (Ronel et al. 2011). In
addition to these, it had been seen that the national governments of the different nations are
levying a higher amount of tax on the various substances and thus indirectly support the same
since they have the option to earn a higher amount of capital through the sale as well as the
consumption of the same (Fomiatti, Moore and Fraser 2017). More importantly, there are various
kinds of societal issues like discrimination, stigmatization and others as well that these
individuals have to face. For instance, the individuals because of discrimination or stigmatization
do not get adequate employment or economic opportunities, fail to get congenial homes, their
children had to face discrimination within the educational institutions and others (Roth 2016).
Furthermore, recent researchers have clearly revealed the fact that the individuals suffering from
addiction issues are related to all age brackets and also from all walks of life (Haslam et al.
2019). Thus, the peer group of the individuals related to the age bracket of 18-65 years of age

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had been selected for analysis in this paper. The usage of individual counseling or social care for
the individuals suffering from addiction over the years had failed to yield the desired results.
This in turn had given rise to the extensive usage of the process of group work for offering the
required social care to these individuals. The above mentioned benefits that the usage of this
particular process offers to the individuals for their recovery over the traditional methods had
also substantially contributed towards the extensive usage of the same.
Scott et al. (2018) believe that an important factor which had substantially contributed
towards the usage of group work in addiction recovery can be attributed to the benefits offered
by the same. Marlatt, Larimer and Witkiewitz (2011) have noted that perhaps the most important
benefit offered by the usage of this particular method is that it offers new learning opportunities
to the individuals, which in turn can be used by them for overcoming the addiction issues that
they suffer from. For instance, the group members by sharing their experiences have the
opportunity to learn new coping mechanisms which have proved helpful for their peer group
members and thereby facilitate their recovery. Furthermore, the individuals also have the
opportunity to learn new ways through which they can overcome the adverse effects of the
societal evils like discrimination, stigmatization and others that they have to face within the
societal framework (DiClemente 2018). In addition to these, they also have the opportunity to
learn new behavior attributes which are likely to help them to control their urges or their desire
to use substances and thereby reduce their dependence on the same. Moreover, by sharing their
experiences, problems or issues with other individuals who are suffering from the same kind of
issues individuals have the option to attain catharsis which in turn would enable them to reduce
the abuse of substance (Best et al. 2016). In this relation, it needs to be said that the majority of
the substance abusers often do not have any other individual with whom they can share their

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feelings or issues. This in turn not only enhances their dependence on the different kinds of
substances but also gives rise to various forms of mental health issues among them as well (Bliuc
et al. 2017). Lastly, the traditional approaches which were used in the earlier times in addiction
recovery relied on the process of one-to-one interventions which not only delayed the recovery
of the individuals but were also very limited in scope as well (Henderson and Thomas 2012).
Thus, in a way it can be said that the usage of the group work process for facilitating the
recovery of the individuals had overcome the limitations of the traditional approaches which
were used in the earlier times. These in short are some of the most important benefits which the
process of group work offers to the individuals suffering from addiction issues. However, at the
same time it needs to be said that the group work process needs to be effectively planned for
them to provide the above mentioned benefits. For the attainment of this particular end, the
factors of group dynamics, the processes of group formation or group development and others
needs to be taken into consideration.
According to Beckwith et al. (2019), the manner in which the groups are being formed,
developed, facilitated and also evaluated had a profound impact on the recovery process of the
individuals who use the same for achieving recovery from addiction. Best et al. (2017) found that
the social care providers have the option to take the help of different group or team development
theories or models like Tuckman’s team development model and others. The usage of
Tuckman’s team development model requires the social service providers to take into account its
five stages, namely, forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning (Roth 2016). In the
particular context of the social service user group, the first stage would be the stage wherein the
individuals suffering from addiction issues are being brought together and they try to know about
them through the analysis of their behavior (Scott et al. 2018). The second stage would be the

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one wherein the individuals would get to know more about each other and also compete for
different roles which in turn is likely to give rise to conflicts or disputes. The third stage would
be the one wherein the different conflicts among the individuals would be resolved and also the
group goals or the objectives would be formulated (DiClemente 2018). In the performing stage,
the different individuals would start to seek solutions or formulate measures through which not
only they but also the other members of the group would be able to attain recovery. In the last
stage, that is, the stage of adjourning, the group would be adjourned provided all the members of
the group have been able to achieve recovery from their addiction issues. In addition to these, the
social care providers also need to set various milestones which the members of the group would
be required to achieve (Ezhumalai et al. 2018). These milestones needs to be created taking into
account the gravity of the addiction issues faced by the individuals, the time that it would require
for them to recover from the same and other important factors.
The “Love and Will” model by Benson (2000) states that the human beings have a deep
seated desire to be a part of a social group wherein they would be able to express themselves
effected and be a part of something which is bigger than them (Best et al. 2018). Furthermore,
this particular model also indicates that while being a part of a social group, the individuals also
have the desire or the urge to retain their own identify rather than merely representing the
different attributes or the characteristic traits of the group (Fomiatti, Moore and Fraser 2017).
This model of Benson can be used for analyzing the manner in which the different individuals
interact within the groups and also how their group experiences are being shaped. For instance,
in the peer group under discussion here, the individuals because of the discrimination or the
stigmatization that they had to face within the societal framework, they crave to become a part of
a social group which is bigger or larger than them (Brandler and Roman 2015). This in turn not

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only influences them to become a part of the peer group which had been formed for facilitating
their recovery but to undertake meaningful interactions within the same. However, it is seen that
these individuals also have the urge to retain their own distinctive identify within the social
group and thereby they often tend to share their unique experiences that they have experienced.
This helps the individuals to undergo catharsis which in turn helps them to get rid of their
negative emotions (Roth 2016). This is important since it had been seen that in order to
overcome or escape from their negative emotions, the individuals often take substances. More
importantly, this also has a profound effect on the group experiences of the different individuals
since the attribute of group experience substantially depends on the issues which are being
discussed by the groups, the measures or the resolutions formed within the same, the extent to
which the group had been able to influence the recovery of the individuals and others (Ronel et
al. 2011). Thus, it can be said that the attributes of love and will are the two most important
factors which influence the group interactions and also the group experiences of the individuals
as well.
Henderson and Thomas (2012) have found that the entities of power relationships,
personal values and ethics needs to be ardently followed within the groups and this in turn
substantially determines the recovery of the individuals. Scott et al. (2018) have observed that
the social service providers need to ensure the fact that there is adequate amount of power
balance within the group and none of the individuals are holding more power than the others
since this can adversely affect the recovery process of the individuals. Furthermore, the social
care which is being offered to the individuals needs to be in conjunction with the personal values
followed by them (Petersen and McBride 2002). Lastly, the entity of ethics also needs to be
ardently followed by the social care providers and they are required to ensure the fact that they

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do not exploit the vulnerable condition of the individuals who are a part of the group. More
importantly, the social care providers also have the option to use the Anti oppressive practice
which focuses on the reduction of the socioeconomic oppression that the individuals have to face
within the societal framework (Best et al. 2018). This is important since it had been seen that the
substance abusers had to face a significant amount of socioeconomic oppression within the
societal framework on the score of their addiction issue. Thus, it is likely that the usage of this
approach would help in addressing the root causes of the different issues faced by the
individuals. In addition to these, a significant amount of planning also needs to be done for
responding to the challenges which are likely to emerge within the groups. This can be done by
making the group members understand the negative connotations of the challenges, the benefits
that are likely to derive by overcoming the same, offering proper guidance and care to the group
members and others.
To conclude, the usage of the community based approach or group work offers distinctive
advantages to the social care givers which in turn facilitates the recovery of the service users.
The effectiveness of group work lies in the fact that it offers new learning opportunities to the
individuals, help them to become a part of a social group and thereby overcome the issues that
they suffer from. However, there are certain limitations of the concerned practice as well. like the
For instance, the individuals fail to get person-centric care, some of the individuals do not feel
comfortable discussing their issues in front of a group and thereby do not discuss the issues faced
by them which in turn hinders their recovery and others. These issues can be easily overcome
through the usage of adequate guidance, offering the required support to the group members,
usage of eclectic approach and others. Thus, it can be said that it had become important for the

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social care providers to develop an eclectic approach and also use the above measures for
developing a group work program to support people.

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