Resident Code of Conduct: Social Model of Recovery

The Social Model and the Code of Conduct Agreement

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recommends that recovery residences incorporate the principles of the social model of recovery to build a culture of recovery. The social model of recovery emphasizes experiential knowledge and assumes residents will be responsible for one another growing a sense of community within the house, while empowering individual residents to take charge of their own lives and make choices that advance their own personal recovery.

Learn more about the social model in Best Practices for Recovery Housing from SAMHSA and The Social Model of Recovery from OhioMHAS.

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For recovery homes, it is a delicate balance to follow this social model, family-like environment — where the recovery of all residents is supported, residents care about one another and everyone acts accordingly — while supporting individual empowerment.

The code of conduct within a recovery home should be viewed as a resource to helping residents achieve their recovery and life goals, guiding residents in their interpersonal skills and relationships, while nurturing the house environment as a community.

The code of conduct should NOT be a tool to control behavior or make residents behave in a certain fashion. 

In a social model environment, residents of recovery housing take ownership and responsibility for ensuring that the code of conduct is maintained.

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Optional Homework:

Watch The Social Model of Recovery Across the Levels of Support on YouTube (85 minutes)