research on growth from addictions
Author: Anthony Hewitt

Confidential Research into ‘Positive’ Long-Term Impacts of Addiction to Drugs and Alcohol

It probably goes without saying that traumatic and extreme experiences like the death of loved ones, sexual abuse, rail disasters, etc, can have damaging effects on the people involved, sometimes in a long-lasting way. On the other hand there are some for whom such experiences appear somehow to have had a positive impact in the long run.

Also perhaps suprisingly, there are some people who say that they do not regret their past problems with drugs or alcohol – even when these have been very unpleasant - because they feel that without these experiences they would not be who and where they are today; that in some way they are actually better off as a result of these experiences.

I believe there is a lot that can be learned from studying the experiences of such people. The purpose of this particular research project is to gain a deeper understanding of what actually happens when people who have had problems with drugs or alcohol not only get better, but seem to get a lot better.

It is hoped that this research will be able to help with both the work that takes place with people with drug and alcohol problems, as well as with the wider population who may be recovering from other traumatic and adverse experiences.

If you are one of these people who had problems with drugs or alcohol in the past, who no longer has such problems, and you feel that you may have actually benefited in some way from your experiences, then it would be very helpful if you could participate in this research. I am particularly interested in people who have recovered from their problematic use of drugs or alcohol without specialist help, for example, from drug services, alcohol services or Alcoholics Anonymous, etc.

In the first instance this would involve two simple and comparatively brief (it should take less than thirty minutes) questionnaires that I would send to you and ask you to return. A number of the people who had returned the questionnaires would then be asked if they would be willing to be interviewed further (probably for less than one hour) at their convenience.

It is important to stress that everything in this research is completely confidential, The research itself has been approved by the Bath Local Research Ethics Committee, and by two local University Ethics Committees also (Bristol and UWE).

If you are willing to take part in this research, then please contact me either by phone, letter or e-mail at the following address:


Anthony Hewitt
The Robert Smith Unit
12 Mortimer Road
Clifton
Bristol
BS8 4EX
UK

00 44 117 973 5004

e-mail: pspajh@bath.ac.uk.

If you know anyone else who may be appropriate for this research I would be very grateful if you could also pass this information on to them, the greater the numbers of people involved in this research, then the more useful and relevant it is likely to be.

Many thanks for your help.

Anthony Hewitt






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I have worked with alcohol and drugs for the last twenty years, and though I have seen considerable damage and distress in that time, I have seen some suprising effects in recovery, what is sometimes called Post-traumatic Growth. I have been researching PTG in addictions for some years at the University of Bath in the UK, and have spoken and published on the subject. I am currently two years into my Doctorate on PTG in addictions. I still work in the field, now as a manager, though I am a counsellor by background.

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