Dynamic Pathways to Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder

This book harnesses research to illustrate dynamic processes of recovery from alcohol use disorder. Abstinence is not the only way.

This volume presents multidisciplinary research on alcohol recovery ranging from individual to community to policy influences. It pushes beyond the dominant focus on abstinence achieved via treatment and considers how recovery involves improved health and wellbeing, and the ways by which individuals, environments, and policies can support it.Alcohol use disorder is by far the most prevalent substance use disorder in the general population and is a major contributor to disease worldwide. Recovery from the disorder is a dynamic process of change, and individuals take many different routes to resolve their alcohol problems and seek to achieve a life worth living. Total abstention is not the only solution and robust recovery involves more than changing drinking practices. This volume brings together multidisciplinary research on recovery processes, contexts, and outcomes as well as new ideas about the multiple pathways involved. Experts chart the individual, social, contextual, community, economic, regulatory, policy, and structural influences that are vital to understanding alcohol use disorder and recovery. The book recommends new approaches to conceptualizing and assessing recovery alongside new avenues for research, community engagement, and policy that constitute a major shift in the practice and policy landscape.