10 Benefits of Peer Support in Addiction Recovery

Peer support in addiction recovery can be a pivotal component of your comprehensive treatment plan. Finding a group of people who understand what you’ve gone through, have achieved recovery themselves, and are able to show true empathy and compassion can make your journey to recovery much easier.

What Is Peer Support in Addiction Recovery?

Peer support in addiction recovery may take many different forms but ultimately all focus on the same thing — bringing together a group of people with a common set of challenges to collaborate on recovery.

People who offer peer support typically have a lived experience of addiction, are in recovery themselves, and are working to help others do the same.

The people who offer peer support aren’t necessarily trained mental health professionals. They are regular people who have overcome an addiction problem. Some, however, do have specialized training as peer support coaches, treatment interventions, or counseling.

What most people who offer peer support in addiction recovery have in common is that they understand that the process becomes much easier when you are surrounded by a supportive and understanding community.

Different Types of Peer Support

Peer support in addiction recovery comes in many shapes and sizes. It can be a paid, professional service by people who have specialized training and skills, or it can be a free support group where people gather simply to support one another.

Some of the most common types of peer support in addiction recovery include:

• Recovery Coaching: A recovery coach has specialized training in peer support and offers one-on-one guidance from a professional
• 12-Step Support Groups: Groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous are free community groups designed to support people on the path to recovery
• Alternative Support Groups: Groups such as SMART Recovery or Refuge Recovery provide alternative support groups to the 12-step model
• Group Therapy: Group therapy is guided by a licensed therapist but focuses on helping people with a shared problem work toward sobriety together
• Online Support Forums: A number of websites offer recovery support forums for people to share their challenges and victories with one another 24/7
• Sober Clubs or Groups: Many communities have local groups who are living lives in recovery, often focused on activities or sports such as exercise, hiking, or baseball

The different types of peer support are designed to cater to the wide range of needs that people can have while working to maintain their recovery. Finding the approach that’s right for you can help you start to reap the benefits of peer support.

10 Benefits of Peer Support

Peer support is one of the most essential elements of a well-rounded and comprehensive treatment plan, due to its countless benefits. There are many clear and impactful benefits of peer support in addiction recovery.

1. Showing that Recovery Is Possible

No matter the type of peer support you engage in, the first and most obvious advantage is that it can show people that recovery is truly possible. People with substance use disorders often feel as though achieving sobriety is out of reach or that people can’t understand how challenging it is to achieve abstinence.

Peer support can rapidly change this outlook. It shows people that others who have had a substance use disorder have achieved lasting sobriety. They can share how they overcame challenges similar to the ones you’re experiencing right now.

This can create a light at the end of the tunnel, showing people what the rewards of recovery look like and how to achieve them.

No two people’s stories of addiction are the same, but connecting with other people in recovery can show you how similar the path to sobriety is. No matter how you may feel, you’re not alone in your recovery process, and there are people with similar stories who can help you along the path to recovery.

2. Recovery Outside of Treatment

For most people, recovery from addiction starts at a residential or outpatient treatment center. These facilities provide extensive support from mental health professionals, carefully controlled environments that help facilitate your sobriety, and rigorous accountability from your treatment team.

However, addiction treatment doesn’t last forever, and people who graduate from treatment can often feel like they lose the support they need to maintain their recovery.

Peer support options can help supplement this support network after clients have graduated from a treatment program and continue to offer support for as long as needed.

Taking part in peer support groups outside of your treatment center can provide a place where you can continue working with other people in recovery and surround yourself with people who truly understand the challenges of maintaining your sobriety.

You can attend support groups, meet with a recovery coach, or attend sober events for years after graduating from treatment, keeping your recovery at the forefront of your mind and making it easier to maintain.

3. Cultivating Community

Finding effective peer support helps people build a sense of community that supports a recovery lifestyle. 12-step or alternative support groups, for instance, make fellowship and community a key aspect of their recovery programs, knowing how important this social support network is to recovery.

You may wonder why it’s so important to have a community that’s specifically focused on sobriety and recovery. While there’s no requirement to surround yourself with other sober people if you’re trying to stay sober yourself, a sober community can help in many ways, including:

• No social pressure to drink or use drugs
• A shared commitment to a recovery lifestyle
• Sharing effective coping skills for managing cravings, triggers, or mental health challenges
• Providing a place where you can share your challenges openly without fear of being misunderstood

All of these components can help keep you on the path to sobriety.

4. Providing Accountability

When people break free from a substance use disorder, there are typically a number of lifestyle changes they need to make to maintain that recovery.

For example, you may need to take actions such as:

• Avoiding certain peer groups you used to drink or use drugs with
• Sharing with others when you’re struggling mentally
• Letting people know when you feel a craving
• Engaging in recovery activities such as therapy, support groups, or medication-assisted treatment
• Taking care of your physical and mental health

People who are involved in peer support groups understand how important these lifestyle changes are to maintaining sobriety, and can help keep you accountable to your own recovery program.

5. Reducing Stigma

Substance use disorders are incredibly stigmatized in society today. Facing this stigma regularly can quickly wear you out mentally and emotionally, leading to undue stress and hardship that can trigger substance use cravings or simply leave you feeling worn out.

Since peer support is typically given by those who have overcome a substance use disorder themselves, they are typically the least stigmatizing people you can spend time with. They won’t judge you for past substance use, experiencing cravings or lingering withdrawal symptoms, or simply having a hard time staying sober.

Instead, they’ll be able to share their own experiences of stigma and how they’ve overcome them, as well as be there to provide continued support on your recovery journey.

6. Practical Advice

People in peer support roles can provide insight and practical advice into the challenges you experience on a day-to-day basis. If you have a large peer support group, there is almost always somebody who’s experienced the challenge you’re going through now, and they may have actionable and practical advice for how to get through it.

When you’re newly sober, all manner of everyday activities can bring up challenges you didn’t expect. It might be your first time dealing with these situations without resorting to drug or alcohol use.

People who have been sober for years, on the other hand, have likely encountered these situations several times before and developed personal strategies to overcome their challenges, and they can help you find strategies that work for you as well.

7. Role Models and Mentorship

Recovery is inherently aspirational. It’s about becoming a better person, working on your shortcomings, and achieving your personal goals in life. Having a role model for your recovery can help you shape these goals and ambitions for yourself by seeing what’s possible when you maintain your recovery for years to come.

Mentorship is a common form of peer support as well. Having somebody with more recovery experience to help you through daily challenges can be incredibly valuable, and they can provide suggestions and strategies that can be extremely useful in your own recovery journey.

8. Creating a Sense of Belonging

Another common experience for people new to recovery is feeling like they don’t quite fit in anywhere after they’ve gotten sober. People will often separate themselves from the people they used to drink or use drugs with as a strategy to maintain their abstinence, leaving them more socially isolated than when they were in active addiction.

Peer support helps create a sense of belonging and connection again. Often, peer support groups highly value new members, go to great lengths to make them feel welcomed and supported, and understand what it’s like to be newly sober and not have a strong support network in place already.

When you seek out peer support from somebody with a bit more recovery experience than you have, you may find that you are treated as though you belong immediately.

9. Accessibility

Peer support options are typically much more accessible, affordable, and approachable than other forms of addiction treatment. Going to a residential treatment program, for instance, often requires you to commit to several weeks of care, may cost a substantial sum of money, and takes a great deal of time and effort.

In contrast, most peer support options are free and available to everyone. Even seeking out a professional recovery coach is often much more affordable than other types of mental health treatment.

10. Providing the Opportunity to Give Back

Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your recovery is to give back to others. If you’ve been sober for a month, you may have just the right experience and advice to support somebody who’s only been sober for a week.

Many people find that the process of helping somebody else through a sobriety challenge is the most beneficial thing they can do for their own recovery.

Peer support is an inherently selfless process, but these acts of selflessness can nonetheless sustain your recovery. By focusing on helping others, you can set aside your personal problems, at least for a short while — and you may come through the other side feeling much better.

Learn More About Peer Support at APN

At APN Lodge, we weave peer support into the very fabric of our addiction recovery programs. To learn more about how we integrate peer support with professional evidence-based interventions, call our team today to speak to one of our team members about our program.

References

• Reif, Sharon, et al. “Peer Recovery Support for Individuals with Substance Use Disorders: Assessing the Evidence.” Psychiatric Services, vol. 65, no. 7, July 2014, pp. 853–861, https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201400047.
• SAMHSA. “Peer Support Workers for Those in Recovery.” Samhsa.gov, 2017, www.samhsa.gov/brss-tacs/recovery-support-tools/peers.