The “Imagined Recovery Community”: A Conceptualization of the Recovery Community

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn recent years the concept of the “recovery community” has gained considerable momentum in both the academic literature, as well as government policy. Despite this, there remains a lack of understanding of the recovery community. This is a theoretical article designed to provide our conceptualization of the recovery community. Drawing on Anderson's “imagined communities,” and MacMillan and Chavis's “sense of community,” the authors propose that the recovery community can be perceived as “imagined.” A key component of our conceptualization is language, and the power it has to unlock, and shape, the cultural beliefs of people in recovery from substance dependency, regardless of their location. The implications of this article are that it further sparks debate into how we perceive people in recovery, as well as providing a platform that will continue to fuel the enthusiasm already behind the recovery community.