Recovery Concepts in Los Angeles: Where Healing Meets Personal Empowerment

In Los Angeles, over a million struggle with substance misuse, while 1 in 5 struggle with mental health conditions. 33% of the time, these two tend to overlap. In this case, recovery concepts become the foundation of your healing. They take an optimistic view toward recovery from substance use and co-occurring mental health concerns, as they are focused on restoring your levels of daily functioning to what they were before the condition, alongside reducing/eliminating the symptoms of the same.

Recovery concepts or principles are ten core principles that underline and direct your recovery.

Linda Whiteside, Clinical Supervisor at the NuView Treatment Center, says, “These ten core recovery concepts were established during the 2004 National Consensus Conference on Mental Health Recovery and Mental Health Systems Transformation - where scholars, mental health specialists, and clients came together to understand what recovery must look like for a fulfilling life beyond rehab or treatment.”

The ten core recovery concepts, as provided by the National Consensus Conference on Mental Health Recovery and Mental Health Systems Transformation, convened by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), are:

• Hope: Hope is central to recovery, as it instills the belief that recovery is tangible and within your reach.
• Respect: Recovery needs to be respected by society, the different systems of care, and the person themselves.
• Personalized: Every person is unique, and so is their recovery journey. Taking a one-size-fits-all approach can be counterproductive to recovery, so treatment must be personalized to unique needs and goals.
• Strengths-Based: Recovery must be based on a person’s strengths in a way that builds on them.
• Self-Direction: Recovery needs to instill a sense of personal ownership, as the person determines their path forward in this journey.
• Empowerment: The person must be an active participant in their own recovery – at the helm of every decision.
• Responsibility: The person is responsible for their self-care in an active, intentional recovery.
• Peer Support: While recovery involves personal responsibility, it also believes in the power of community. Group therapy and peer groups become crucial to this sense of connectedness in recovery.
• Holistic: Recovery must not simply consider an illness, disorder, or symptom, but must take a whole person approach to healing - from the mind, body, and spirit.
• Non-Linear: Recovery is not linear, so it can have its ups and downs.

Treatment centers like NuView use the ten recovery concepts as the foundational principles that inform your recovery in the following ways:

• Person-Centered Planning: Treatment shifts from a clinician-led model to a collaborative one. You set your treatment goals as you build on partnerships and community within the clinical setting, rather than passively relying on a list of directives or prescriptions.
• Strengths-Based Practices: Instead of focusing only on symptoms or pathology, personalized care is built around your strengths, coping skills, and personal resources for an engaged recovery journey.
• Holistic and Integrated Care: The whole person treatment heals your mind, body, and spirit. Therefore, it focuses on mental health, physical health, coping skills, life skills, social connections, housing, employment, and spiritual needs - recognizing that recovery is connected with different life domains.
• Flexibility and Personalization: By recognizing the different pathways and the non-linearity of recovery, recovery concepts lead to flexible interventions. Care options are responsive to change, setbacks, and evolving goals, rather than being rigid or time-bound.
• Trauma-Sensitive Care: Mental health specialists are trained to reduce harm, build trust, and empower safety and choice by acknowledging that many in recovery have experienced trauma.
• Inclusion of Peer Empowerment: Group therapy, peer-run groups, and community networks become integrated into care plans to build on motivation, connection, and lived experiences.

Yes, the recovery concepts are principles are highly effective.

Linda Whiteside informs, “At NuView’s facility in Los Angeles, we achieve more than 90% recovery rates with these ten core principles. In fact, studies have also informed how these recovery concepts are crucial to a 95% success rate in treating substance use and co-occurring mental health conditions.”

She elaborates, “Unlike how psychotherapy began with psychoanalysis - with the aim to replace ‘neuroticism’ with ‘ordinary unhappiness’ - recovery concepts are focused on bringing back life as you knew it before substance use or mental health condition took over. The goal is for you to take back control towards a meaningful, purposeful future.”

Recovery is a journey, which can look like this based on the recovery concepts or principles:

• The First Stage: The first stage begins when you identify the internal factors of your recovery. These can be cognitive, emotional, or even spiritual factors.
• The Second Stage: Once you identify the internal factors, you identify the external factors of your recovery. These can be your level of engagement, self-care, and your social support system.
• The Third Stage: In the third stage, the internal and external factors come together to trigger your recovery journey. This is basically the outcome of your consciousness, insight, a plan to change, and a commitment to change.
• The Final Stage: The final stage is when you are on the road to empowerment and a lasting recovery.

At NuView, we weave the recovery concepts or principles into every aspect of your recovery so that the healing experience is tailored to your needs and goals toward a healthier, fulfilling future. You set the tone for your recovery, as you heal in a safe, non-judgmental setting.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at (323) 307-7997 to connect with our experts today!

1. Why are recovery concepts important when substance use and mental health conditions overlap?

As recovery concepts address the whole person, and not just symptoms, they help rebuild functioning, stability, and purpose - something that becomes key to healing from substance use and co-occurring mental health conditions.

2. How do recovery concepts impact decisions regarding therapy or medication?

Recovery concepts encourage collaborative decision-making where lived experience and personal goals direct clinical choices.

3. Do recovery concepts apply in outpatient or virtual care?

Yes. Recovery concepts underlie treatment mindset and behavior, so they work across outpatient and telehealth settings, too.

4. Can recovery concepts evolve as a person’s goals change?

Yes. Recovery concepts are flexible and meant to grow with you as your identity, priorities, and definition of fulfillment evolve over time.

5. Can recovery concepts be applied outside formal rehab programs?

Yes. Recovery concepts can underlie everyday decisions, relationships, and self-care long after structured treatment ends.