Peer Recovery Care Planning While Awaiting Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment

Plain-Language Summary

Waiting for addiction treatment is one of the most vulnerable points in a person's journey. In Australia, fewer than half of the people who seek alcohol and other drug treatment actually receive it, and long waits often mean losing motivation, or losing people entirely, before care even begins. This pilot study at Turning Point in Melbourne tested a different way to use that waiting time: pairing 21 people on a community treatment waiting list with peer workers who have lived experience of recovery. Together they completed the REC-CAP strengths assessment, set goals, and built a recovery care plan, with follow-up sessions at four and twelve weeks and brief check-ins every fortnight in between.

The results are encouraging. Recovery capital increased significantly across the three time points, with the largest gains in the first four weeks. In interviews, participants said the peer relationship and the structure of working toward goals helped them stay motivated and feel less alone while they waited. The study shows that peer support built around a REC-CAP strengths profile and care planning can turn a waiting list from dead time into a head start, and the authors recommend a fully powered trial to test the approach at scale.