Promoting the recovery of individuals who use drugs is crucial, given the diverse contexts in which they navigate. Yet the most common thing is that it is prioritized in this current uncertain society, in humanitarian practice, and an inclusive, pluralistic culture.
The question arises: for whom should recovery be intended? How to conduct the practical recovery in different contexts?
Recovery reflects the constructs of addiction and non-addiction established by the political-legal system, accommodating some while rejecting others to some extent.
Thus, recovery transcends personal healthcare, constituting a societal endeavour shaped by national agendas, social norms, and community dynamics.
The current iteration of the co-learning program builds upon the initial edition of the "Difference and Facilitation" series, which focused on new perspectives and understandings of people who use drugs.
The theme for this edition is "For Them, For Recovery." We aim to explore its mechanisms, practices, and evaluations across diverse contexts by sharing and examining recovery experiences in the US, Australia, and China.
This program will cover the following topics:
• Reconceptualizing the Rehabilitation and Recovery of Clients
• Service Providers and Modes of Service Delivery
• Philosophy of Recovery Practice
• Ways of Working and Priorities in Different National Contexts
• Pluralism and Reflection on Recovery with an International Perspective
The specific three lectures are arranged as follows:
First presentation (25th Jun)
Shared by Xueli Liu
Topic:
From Volunteer to Addiction Counsellor: An Individual Process Perspective on the Changes in Chinese Anti-Drug and Detoxification Plan in the Past 20 Years.
Qualifications and background:
International Addiction Counsellor CADC (802685)
National Level 2 Psychological Counselor (1506000008203236)
Enterprise EAP consulting and operations engineer
Job position and title:
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Drug Harm Reduction Project; Senior Trainer from China
Member/Officer, Addiction Anonymous Branch of China Association for Drug use Prevention and Control
Second presentation (10th Jul)
Shared by Alex Lee
Topic: A community approach to holistic drug and alcohol addiction treatment
Qualifications and background:
Alex has worked at The Glen for over 10 years and is currently the CEO of The Glen Group, which operates two residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres on the Central Coast. Alex is a chartered accountant and has always been motivated to use his skillset to help. Alex has volunteered and worked with organisations across Australia, Asia and Europe in mental health, homelessness, refugees and asylum seekers, youth and drug and alcohol addiction.
Third Presentation (24th Jul)
Shared by Hao Yao
Topic: Reimagining wellness: a socio-historical perspective about the recovery movement
Qualifications and background:
Hao Yao, MD, MPH, is currently a resident psychiatrist at Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. He graduated with an MD from Fudan University and an MPH from Harvard University. His academic interests focus on social psychiatry, global mental health, medical education, and medical humanities.
He is now working on designing, implementing and evaluating a program to relieve family caregiving burden of severe mental illness in China and a community-based rehabilitation program for people with severe mental illness in China using the task-shifting approach. He is dedicated to transforming China’s mental health care system into a recovery-oriented, community-based, family-focused, and person-centered one.
Hao is also the founder of Mind China, a non-profit organization which mission is to make mental health for all a reality in China using advocacy, education, training, services, and research strategies.
Hao has published over 10 papers on highly influential academic journals such as Lancet Psychiatry, BMC Psychiatry, BMC Health Services Research, Brain, Behavior and Immunity, etc. He is also the Chinese translator of several books including Professor Arthur Kleinman’s The Soul of Care (2020), Professors Vikram Patel and Charlotte Hanlon’s Where There Is No Psychiatrist (2021), Professor Paul Farmer’s Infections and Inequalities (2022), and the WHO’s Mental Health and Development (2018), Social Determinants of Mental Health (2019), and Guidance on Community Mental Health Services (2022).
