Return to search

A phenomenological study of how people with co-occurring disorders have managed to achieve a state of full recovery

A Thesis Proposal Submitted to the Psychology Department School of Human and Community Development University of Witwatersrand in Partial Fulfilment of the Degree of Master of Arts Degree in Psychology by Dissertation.
February 2016 / This study was aimed at an in-depth exploration of the recovery experiences of a group of 12 individuals who attended 12 step self-help groups situated in different regions in Johannesburg. 12-step self-help groups are presently the largest clinical supplements in the world. Ongoing discussions with the relevant representatives from the fellowships of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) were utilised in order to gain access to this population of people. These 12 individuals suffered from substance dependence and one or more co-occurring disorders (CODs) and were interviewed in semi-structured interviews about how their lives had changed since they had achieved a state of recovery and about some of the difficulties they had experienced since the point at which they had achieved remission from their substance-related disorder. The study also focused on the therapeutic aids that the participants had found useful during their time in recovery. In this study, CODs refers to the existence of at least one substance-related disorder and at least one psychiatric disorder in the same individual. The overarching methodological framework that was used in the study was phenomenological. It was evident from the study that the road to recovery is fraught with many challenges that the recovering individual needs to negotiate and that very often there is no information available on what the best course of action to follow is. In conclusion it is evident that recovering addicts, especially those that have been diagnosed with one or more CODs often require on going support and care if they are to continue on their journey of recovery

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/20727
Date27 July 2016
CreatorsHeald, Alistair
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Formatapplication/pdf

Page generated in 0.0021 seconds