Personal strengths and resources that people use in their recovery from persistent substance use disorder

The analysis paints a portrait of people who, despite their difficulties, managed to use their skills and develop new ones to confront their problems: introspection, perseverance, self-belief, knowledge about recovery, etc. For women in particular, the ability to assert themselves appears to have been a survival tool in their trajectory. For most of the participants, material and financial resources were most lacking in their recovery process. Faced with a precarious financial situation, several women spoke of the need to get organized and be proactive in finding ways to support themselves. Contrary to a deficit-focused perspective, the concept of recovery capital leads us to focus on what is going well in these people’s lives.