Multiple senses of community and recovery processes. A pilot study for a national evaluation of the experiences of persons with substance use problems receiving help and services from Norwegian municipalities

Abstract

Aims This pilot study uses a multifaceted concept of sense of community (SOC)—multiple senses of community (MPSOC)—to understand how the multiple communities of persons with substance use problems, including those with a positive, negative and neutral SOC, influence processes of substance use recovery. Methods Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 16 informants from different Norwegian municipalities and regions. A collaborative research design and thematic analyses with a peer researcher were applied. Results The findings confirm prior findings of key ingredients related to recovery. However, they also illustrate that for communities to promote recovery, they need to fulfil individual needs, provide distance from pretreatment status, identity and roles and harmonise with individual meaning systems of an ideal community. Conclusion Experiences of positive and negative community connections within geographical, relational and ideal communities take part in recovery processes. Community participation is suggested to be included in individual outpatient treatment and posttreatment plans.