Skip to main content

Residential Recovery Homes/Oxford Houses

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Addiction Recovery Management

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Psychiatry ((CCPSY))

Abstract

Over 10,000 people live in recovery homes called Oxford Houses throughout the USA. Among these approximately 1,400 abstinent living environments, residents are provided an unlimited period of time to gain fellowship and support for becoming productive members of society. The evolution of 17 year collaboration between this Oxford House organization and a research team at DePaul University is described. In addition, economic issues are explored including the finding that this recovery community appears to have both low costs and high benefits. Issues involving the sustainability of the Oxford Houses are also presented. The chapter also reviews gender roles and women’s specific issues to highlight how Oxford Houses have the potential to be empowering. Finally, comorbid psychiatric conditions are reviewed in the context of how Oxford Houses can promote not only abstinence among this group, but also improved psychological functioning.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Oxford House, Inc. Oxford House manual. Silver Spring, MD: Oxford House, Inc.; 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Davis MI, Jason LA, Ferrari JR, Olson BD, Alvarez JA. A collaborative action approach to researching substance abuse recovery. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2005;31:537–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Reason P, Bradbuy H. Handbook of action research. Participatory inquiry & practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Suarez-Balcazar Y, Davis M, Ferrari J, Nyden P, Olson B, Alvarez J, et al. Fostering university-community partnerships: a framework and an exemplar. In: Jason LA, Keys CB, Suarez-Balcazar Y, Taylor RR, Davis M, Durlak J, Isenberg J, editors. Participatory community research: theories and methods in action. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2004. p. 105–20.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  5. Parsons M, Warner-Robbins C. Formerly incarcerated women create healthy lives through participatory action research. Holist Nurs Pract. 2002;16:40–9.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Riger S. Epistemological debates, feminist voices. Am Psychol. 1992;47:730–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Hill J, Bond M, Mulvey A, Terenzio M. Methodological issues and challenges for a feminist community psychology issue. Am J Community Psychol. 2000;28:759–72.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Berkowitz B, Wolff T. The spirit of the coalition. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association; 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Davis MI, Olson BD, Jason LA, Alvarez J, Ferrari JR. Cultivating and maintaining effective action research partnerships: the DePaul and Oxford House collaborative. J Prev Interv Community. 2006;31:3–12.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Olson BD, Jason LA, Davidson M, Ferrari JR. Increases in tolerance within naturalistic, self-help recovery homes. Am J Community Psychol. 2009;44:188–195.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Chavis D, Florin P. Community development, community participation. San Jose, CA: Prevention Office, Bureau of Drug Abuse Services; 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Jason LA, Olson BD, Ferrari JR, LoSasso AT. Communal housing settings enhance substance abuse recovery. Am J Public Health. 2006;91:1727–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Jason LA, Groh DR, Durocher M, Alvarez J, Aase DM, Ferrari JR. Counteracting “Not in My Backyard”: the positive effects of greater occupancy within mutual-help recovery homes. J Community Psychol. 2008;36:947–58.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Jason LA, Olson BD, Foli K. Rescued lives: The Oxford House approach to substance abuse. New York: Routledge; 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Olson BD, Street P, Rider P, Whitney T. Social and economic report for treatment-on-demand in Illinois. 2006. http://psychoanalystsopposewar.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/social-and-economic-report-olson-et-al.pdf. Accessed 17 Aug 2009.

  16. Olson BD, Viola JJ, Jason LA, Davis MI, Ferrari JR, Rabin-Belyaev O. Economic costs of Oxford House inpatient treatment and incarceration: a preliminary report. J Prev Interv Community. 2006;31:63–74.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. French MT. Drug Abuse Treatment Cost Analysis Program (DATCAP): program version user’s manual. 8th ed. Florida: University of Miami; 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Jason LA, Olson BD, Ferrari JR, Majer JM, Alvarez J, Stout J. An examination of main and interactive effects of substance abuse recovery. Addiction. 2007;102:1114–1121.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Oxford House Inc. Annual report. 2007. http://www.oxfordhouse.org/userfiles/file/doc/ar2007.pdf. Accessed 12 July 2008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Jason LA, Braciszewski JM, Olson BD, Ferrari JR. Increasing the number of mutual help recovery homes for substance abusers: effects of government policy and funding assistance. Behav Soc Issues. 2005;14:71–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Braciszewski JM, Olson BD, Jason LA, Ferrari JR. The influence of policy on the differential expansion of male and female self-run recovery settings. J Prev Interv Community. 2006;31:51–62.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Mortensen J, Jason LA, Aase D, Mueller D, Ferrari J. Organizational factors related to the sustainability of recovery homes. Manuscript submitted for publication. 2009.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Shediac-Rizkallah MC, Bone LR. Planning for the sustainability of community-based health programs: Conceptual frameworks and future directions for research, practice, and policy. Health Ed Res. 1998;13:87–108.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Hitlin S. Doing good, feeling good: values and the self’s moral center. J Posit Psychol. 2007;2:249–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Taylor TP, Pancer SM. Community service experiences and commitment to volunteering. J Appl Soc Psychol. 2007;37:320–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Jason LA, Aase DM, Mueller DG, Ferrari JR. Current and previous residents of self-governed recovery homes: characteristics of long-term recovery. Alcohol Treat Q. 2009;27:442–452.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Evashwick C, Ory M. Organizational characteristics of successful innovative health care programs sustained over time. Fam Community Health. 2003;26:177–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Carmeli A, Schaubroeck J. Organizational crisis-preparedness: the importance of learning from failures. Long Range Plann. 2008;41:177–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Hunter DE. Using a theory of change approach to build organizational strength, capacity, and sustainability with not-for-profit organizations in the human services sector. Eval Program Plann. 2006;29:193–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Davis MI, Jason LA. Sex differences in social support and self-efficacy within a recovery community. Am J Community Psychol. 2005;36:259–74.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Jason LA, Ferrari JR. Oxford house recovery homes: Characteristics and effectiveness. Psych Services. 2010;7:92–102.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Belyaev-Glantsman O, Jason LA, Ferrari JR. The relationship of gender and ethnicity to employment in recovery homes. In: Jason LA, Ferrari JR, editors. Recovery from addiction in communal living settings: The Oxford House model [Special Issue]. J Groups Addict Recover. 2009;4:92–9.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Brown JT, Davis MI, Jason LA, Ferrari JR. Stress and coping: the roles of ethnicity and gender in substance abuse recovery. J Prev Interv Community. 2006;31:75–84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Viola JJ, Ferrari JR, Davis MI, Jason LA. Measuring in-group and out-group helping in communal living: helping and substance abuse recovery. In: Jason LA, Ferrari JR, editors. Recovery from addiction in communal living settings: The Oxford House model [Special Issue]. J Groups Addict Recover. 2009;4:110–28.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Green LL, Fullilove MT, Fullilove RE. Remembering the lizard: reconstructing sexuality in the rooms of narcotics anonymous. J Sex Res. 2005;42:28–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. MacRae R, Aalto E. Gendered power dynamics and HIV risk in drug using sexual relationships. AIDS Care. 2000;12:505–15.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Grant BF, Stinson FS, Dawson DA, Chou SP, Dufour MC, Compton W, et al. Prevalence and co-occurrence of substance use disorders and independent mood and anxiety disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004;61:807–16.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Khantzian EJ. The self-medication hypothesis of addictive disorders. Am J Psychiatry. 1985;142:1259–64.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Ferrari JR, Jason LA, DaviS MI, Olson BD, Alvarez J. Assessing similarities and differences in governance among residential recovery programs: self vs. staff rules and regulations. Ther Communities Int J Ther Support Org. 2004;25:185–98.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Jason LA, Olson BD, Ferrari JR, Layne A, Davis MI, Alvarez J. A case study of self-governance in a drug abuse recovery home. North Am J Psychol. 2003;5:499–514.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Aase DM, Jason LA, Ferrari JR, Groh DR, Alvarez J, Olson BD, Davis MI. Anxiety symptoms and alcohol use: a longitudinal analysis of length of time in mutual help recovery homes. Int J Self Help Self Care. 2006–2007;4:21–35.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Aase DM, Jason LA, Olson BD, Majer JM, Ferrari JR, Davis MI, Virtue SM. A longitudinal analysis of criminal and aggressive behaviors among a national sample of adults in mutual-help recovery homes. In: Jason LA, Ferrari JR, editors. Recovery from addiction in communal living settings: The Oxford House model [Special Issue]. J Groups Addict Recover. 2009;4:82–91.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Burns L, Teesson M, O’Neill K. The impact of comorbid anxiety and depression on alcohol treatment outcomes. Addiction. 2005;100:787–96.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Jason LA, Olson BD, Ferrari JR, Majer JM, Alvarez J, Stout J. An examination of main and interactive effects of substance abuse recovery. Addiction. 2007;102:1114–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Majer JM, Jason LA, North CS, Ferrari JR, Porter NS, Olson BD, et al. A longitudinal analysis of psychiatric severity upon outcomes among substance abusers residing in self-help settings. Am J Community Psychol. 2008;42:145–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Jason LA, Davis MI, Ferrari JR, Anderson E. The need for substance abuse after-care: longitudinal analysis of Oxford House. Addict Behav. 2007;32:803–18.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Leonard A. Jason .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Jason, L.A., Olson, B.D., Mueller, D.G., Walt, L., Aase, D.M. (2010). Residential Recovery Homes/Oxford Houses. In: Kelly, J., White, W. (eds) Addiction Recovery Management. Current Clinical Psychiatry. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-960-4_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-960-4_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-60327-959-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-60327-960-4

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics