ABSTRACT
The literature on desistance from offending and on recovery from substance dependence overlap strongly in their reliance on both developmental pathways and on the critical roles of meaningful activities and changes in social networks (and underlying identities) as mechanisms of the recovery/rehabilitation process. The chapter uses the concept of recovery capital – and its origins in social capital theory – to suggest that the recovery/rehabilitation process is a complex developmental dynamic of social network change that enables personal growth including the development of skills and resilience. This is embedded in the lived environment, characterised as the ‘community recovery capital’ available to support change. Using innovative pilot studies in two Australian states, the chapter emphasises the role of the community as the ‘therapeutic landscape’ that is critical to the sustainability of recovery/rehabilitation. Suggestions are advanced around promoting culture change and challenges to stigma to increase the likelihood of sustainable recovery/rehabilitation through active engagement with community groups.
