Telling Stories of Recovery: A Narrative Evaluation of a Community-Based Drug Treatment Program

Abstract

Community-Based Drug Treatment (CBDT) is a model for treating drug abuse that is designed to utilize community resources. However, few studies have reported its effectiveness based on the storied lives of the participants. We evaluated Katatagan Konta Droga sa Komunidad (KKDK), a 12-module CBDT program designed for low to mild risk users, using a narrative approach to demonstrate how this form of evaluation can enrich our understanding of program effectiveness. Themes that emerged from the narratives of seven recovering drug users who completed the program described the program’s strengths in terms of its ideological approach to treatment that is reconstructive and uplifting to their lives; the collaboration with facilitators, Local Government Units, and Philippine National Police officers; and its use of cultural resources that support recovery and change. We discuss the implications of these findings on the integration of the program with broader social and political initiatives to address the problem of drug abuse.