Guidance

Recovery support services and lived experience initiatives

Guidance on supporting lived experience initiatives and recovery support services to help people start and sustain recovery from problem drug and alcohol use.

• From: Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
• Published: 8 September 2023
• Last updated: 10 October 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England

Documents

Part 1: introducing recovery, peer support and lived experience initiatives

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Part 2: recovery support services - evidence and current provision

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Part 3: how to develop systems of care that support recovery

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Part 4: glossary and resources

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Details

This guidance supports alcohol and drug treatment and recovery partnerships to understand the evidence for, the value of, and ways to develop lived experience initiatives and recovery support services. These initiatives and services help people and their families sustain recovery long term.

It has been written in collaboration with:

• Dr Ed Day, National Recovery Champion
• the College of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (CLERO) Connector leads
• members of the CLERO’s lived experience recovery organisation network

The guidance is in 4 parts, as follows:

Part 1 introduces recovery, peer support and lived experience initiatives. It covers:

• what we mean by recovery and the factors that influence it
• what a recovery-oriented system of care is and how the services within it work together to promote and support recovery
• the role of peer support and lived experience initiatives

Part 2 outlines the evidence for and current provision of recovery support services in England. These are:

• mutual aid and facilitated access to mutual aid
• peer-based recovery support services
• recovery check-ups and continuing care
• recovery community centres
• recovery housing
• recovery support services in educational settings

Part 3 outlines how to develop systems of care that support recovery. It will help alcohol and drug partnerships to develop and support recovery support services and lived experience initiatives. It covers:

• lived experience in local partnerships
• asset mapping, connections and gaps
• building and integrating these assets
• safe and effective lived experience initiatives
• funding and growth of lived experience initiatives

This includes guidance on contracting lived experience initiatives.

Part 4 provides a glossary of terms used in the guidance, further resources and suggested reading.

Published 8 September 2023
Last updated 10 October 2024 + show all updates

1. 10 October 2024

   Updated the guidance, including adding content on new publications such as research and national guidance, amending information on legislation that has come into force since the original publication, adding information about other relevant existing legislation and updating data.

2. 8 September 2023

   First published.