[[alternative]]Study on Curative Factors in Drug Treatment and Recovery Process for Adult Male Drug Addicts in a Therapeutic Community

[[abstract]]The purpose of the study is to explore the curative factors and the characteristics of the recovery process of the drug treatment for those adult male drug addicts in a therapeutic community. The main three research questions are: (1)What are the curative factors in the drug treatment and recovery process? (2)How these curative factors evolve in the drug treatment and recovery process？ (3)What are the characteristics and phases of the drug treatment and recovery process？ Eleven adult male drug addicts age ranged from 19 to 43 years old living in the「Operation Dawn Miaoli Therapeutic Community」were interviewed individually using a semi-structured in-depth interview method. Interviewed data were transcribed and further analyzed employing grounded theory method. Major research findings are: (1)In the specific designed therapeutic environment，36 curative factors are found in the drug treatment and recovery process. The core theme of these 36 factors is named “The Renewal of Life” which contains three main aspects named “Renewal of Relationship with Self”, “Renewal of Relationship with Others”, and “Renewal of Relationship with God” respectively. (2)The drug treatment and recovery process characterizes by three periods：Detoxification Period, Abstinence Period, and Maintenance Period. Each of the periods displays the three aspects of the renewal of life. (3)Three phases are also found in the entire course of drug treatment and recovery process. It includes Physical Recovery Phase, Mental Recovery Phase, and Spiritual Recovery Phase. In conclusion, the therapeutic community helps addicts achieve overall improvements on renewal of relationship with self, others, and God through managed environment. Addicts experience a holistic life renewal that consists of physical, mental and spiritual recoveries. The limitation and future direction of conducting the research are discussed in the end.