September is National Recovery Month, raising awareness around mental health and substance use recovery. Recovery Month promotes evidence-based interventions and practices in mental and behavioral health and celebrates the gains made by those in recovery. While interventions like therapy and medication are important, recovery can encompass many things that help people with psychiatric, behavioral, or substance use disorders feel whole: getting an education, finding a job and succeeding at work, supporting physical health and wellness, exploring peer support, and working on relationships, among many others.

Researchers in the NIDILRR community and elsewhere are developing interventions, programs, and supports to help people in recovery set and achieve goals in these areas as part of their path to wellness. Here are some of the current NIDILRR-funded projects happening across the US, along with ready-to-use resources for Recovery Month activities

Getting an Education

For youth, young adults, and adults, mental health and substance use conditions can present barriers achieving their education goals. Current research supporting people in recovery on the path to completing their education includes:

• Up To Me: Erasing the Stigma of Mental Illness on College Campuses tests a disclosure-based stigma reduction program to reduce barriers to campus participation.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to Enhance Educational Outcomes Among Students with Psychiatric Disabilities in Post-Secondary Education tailors an existing intervention to a telehealth model to support students.
• Check out tip sheets and issue briefs on education including Outside the Box Accommodations with tips and tools for college students from the Transitions ACR.

Succeeding at Work

As we explored previously in our blog, meaningful employment is an important part of the recovery process. Current research supporting employment and recovery includes:

• Improving Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Outcomes for Out-of-School Youth Involved in the Justice and/or Foster Care Systems explores how VR systems can effectively serve these youth with intellectual, developmental, and mental health disabilities.
• Helping Young Adults Succeed at Work and School Through Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Supported Employment evaluates the IPS model for young adults supporting their transition to the workplace.
• Projects at the Learning and Working During the Transition to Adulthood Rehabilitation Research and Training Center study and develop interventions aimed at supporting young adults with mental health conditions on the bridge between college and the workplace.
• Similarly, Helping Youth on the Path to Employment (HYPE): Creating Economic Self-Sufficiency tests a career development program to support employment success for young adults with mental health conditions.
• Reclaiming Employment: Self-Employment Resources for Mental Health Service Users tests a platform that provides support for those pursuing self-employment and entrepreneurship.
• Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Improving Employment Outcomes for Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities conducts projects and activities that build on existing evidence-based supported employment and improve employment outcomes for individuals with psychiatric disabilities.
• Visit the Employment Repository for a collection of employment and vocational recovery resources for potential and current workers, employers, VR providers, and family members.

Supporting Health and Wellness

Maintaining physical health and wellness can be a challenging part of the recovery path. Current research supporting people in recovery to focus on physical health and wellness includes:

• The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Health and Function of People with Psychiatric Disabilities which includes several projects to understand the relationship of psychiatric disabilities and physical health (including COVID recovery) and develop supports in this area.
• The Thresholds Health Literacy and Wellness Promotion Center focuses on health literacy and promoting wellness as a means to enhance recovery.
• INROADS: Intersecting Research on Opioid Misuse, Addiction, and Disability Services examines the intersection of addiction, disability, and service provision to address the rise in opioid use disorder among people with disabilities and help them access treatment and recovery services and supports.
• Explore the Solutions Suite for Health and Recovery, packed with curricula, tools, and guides for immediate use in mental health centers, peer run programs, and in one’s personal path to wellness.

Exploring Peer Supports

People with mental health and substance use disorders may find it helpful to connect with providers who have the same life experience, or they may decide that becoming a peer provider is part of their recovery journey. Current research in peer supports includes:

• A fellowship on Training Young Adults with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities and Co-Occurring Mental Health Conditions to Deliver a Peer Mentoring Intervention.
• A project Testing the Effectiveness of Mainstream Coaching Tools to Increase Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction and Decrease Turnover Among Peer Providers working in mental health settings.
• A study of the Career Outcomes of Certified Peer Specialists with Psychiatric Disabilities to understand how certification contributes to employment outcomes.
• Peer Navigators for the Health and Wellness of People with Psychiatric Disabilities tests the impact of a peer navigator program on health and wellness goals.
• Browse through the Temple University Collaborative’s collection of peer specialist resources, including a peer facilitated community inclusion toolkit.

Building Relationships

The path to recovery can include creating and maintaining relationships with family, friends, and community. Current research in this area includes:

• The Temple University RRTC on Community Living and Participation of People with Serious Mental Illness conducts several studies to understand the role of community participation in recovery and develop interventions to maximize community living and participation among people with serious mental illness.
• Testing ConnectionsRx: A Distance-Based, Community Participation Intervention for Young Adults with Serious Mental Illness)
• Being Needed: Building Social Connections that Matter to Reduce Social Isolation and Loneliness develops and tests an intervention to enhance these connections and feelings of mattering among adults with SMI.
• The Temple University Collaborative’s extensive collection of resources includes many focused on building and maintaining relationships with family, friends, colleagues, and community members. This collection also includes resources on physical activity, recreation and leisure, health and wellness, and welcoming communities.

Research and development supporting people in recovery continues and we look forward to collecting and exploring the studies, guides, toolkits, and other publications and products these grantees will produce in the future!