Addiction and Recovery in the UK captures the essence of the emerging addictions recovery movement and in particular the emerging evidence base that had been gathered around the umbrella of the Recovery Academy UK. The Recovery Academy was established with the aim of creating a forum for people in recovery, practitioners, commissioners and academics working together to describe and understand the principles of recovery as applied across the UK. Following the first annual conference, researchers who had been involved in academic research on recovery and innovative services and activities that had been evaluated were invited to outline UK initiatives. This book, the result of their contributions, is a vibrant collection of diverse theories and models, critiques and innovations, ranging from two linked papers describing the growing recovery movement in Edinburgh to a recovery walking group in Wales and a model for peer activities in the North of England. The projects are typically ‘community up’ projects whose essence has been captured within this book, and which together paint a picture of vitality and growth in the UK recovery movement.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Groups in Addiction and Recovery.