Chief Executive Officer/ Founding Member
Richard has an extensive background in Admissions, Facility Operations, and Clinical outreach. He has developed robust networks of relationship with therapists, hospitals, physicians, treatment centers, and other community resources to provide them with access to behavioral healthcare. Richard has also operated as the CEO of several different treatment facilities over the course of his career.
Richard is passionate about ensuring the client finds the best fit for their treatment needs. His focus is on maintaining relationships with quality providers across the country, so that he can help whoever he comes across get the help they truly need. Equally, Richard focuses on ensuring the treatment provided at Legacy Recovery Center is of the highest quality, and that the team is doing all they can to serve those who come to Legacy Recovery Center for care.
Richard finds his work extremely rewarding, but his biggest joy is his family and helping his wife raise their child.
A friend of yours joyfully announces they are “in remission” after a 3-year struggle with breast cancer. The symptoms have finally disappeared following arduous treatment. As you rejoice together you share that you too are in “remission” from alcohol abuse. They turn to you and say, “but I thought you were cured of that”. And you look her in the eyes and say “there’s no cure for drink; it’s a journey…recovery is just one day at a time”.
So just as with cancer, where remission is not the same as a cure, as some cancer cells may still be present in the body, and the cancer could potentially return, so too with substance abuse. Remission is only one dimension of recovery, albeit a major one.
In fact, 50.2 million American adults considered themselves to be in recovery from their substance use and/or mental health problems. Put another way that’s [1]:
- 2 in 3 adults who ever had a mental health problem
- 7 in 10 adults who ever had a substance use problem
So there’s hope!
In this article, I explore what remission means in the context of addiction recovery, differentiating it from a “cure,” outlining its various stages, and explaining why this shift in terminology is a powerful tool for reducing stigma and supporting long-term wellness.
Beyond the Finish Line: The Healing Power of Hope
“Remission” is increasingly used in the field of addiction medicine to provide a more accurate, nuanced, and hopeful framework for understanding recovery.
Hope is the foundation of recovery, according to SAMHSA, the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [2]. It’s the belief that the challenges and conditions of addiction can be overcome, whether it be from alcohol, amphetamines, prescription medicines, cocaine, opioids, gambling, or sex.
A person’s recovery is built on his or her strengths, talents, coping abilities, resources, and inherent values. It is holistic, addressing the whole person and their community, and is supported by peers, friends, and family members.
The process of recovery is highly personal and occurs via many pathways. It may include clinical treatment, medications, faith-based approaches, peer support, family support, and self-care, among other approaches. Recovery involves continual growth and improvement in one’s health and wellness, and managing setbacks. Because setbacks are a natural part of life, resilience is a key component of recovery.
The Four Major Dimensions of Recovery
1. Health
Overcoming or managing one’s disease(s) or symptoms. For example, abstaining from using alcohol, illicit drugs, and non-prescribed medication, and for making informed, healthy choices that support physical and emotional well-being.
2. Home
Having a stable and safe place to live.
3. Purpose
Conducting meaningful daily activities, such as a job, school volunteerism, family caretaking, or creative endeavors, and the independence, income, and resources to participate in society.
4. Community
Developing and maintaining relationships and social networks that provide support, friendship, love, and hope.
Defining Remission: A Medical Model for Addiction
There has been a shift in perspective in the last two decades, led by neuroscientists and addiction medicine specialists researching the impact of addiction on brain structure and functioning.
Leading health organizations such as ASAM, the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and NIDA, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, now classify addiction as a chronic brain disorder, similar to diabetes or hypertension. It’s manageable, but not necessarily curable [3].
ASAM has added a new element to its Continuum of Care for addictions: Level 1.0 – Long-Term Remission Monitoring. This level of care provides long-term remission monitoring for patients in sustained remission, providing recovery management checkups and rapid reengagement in care when needed. This organization promotes a chronic care model of addiction treatment [4].
ASAM defines remission in the following manner:
Early Remission
After meeting criteria for a substance use disorder, the individual has not met any of the criteria (except craving) for at least 3 months but for less than 12 months.
Sustained Remission
After meeting criteria for a substance use disorder, the individual has not met any of the criteria (except craving) for 12 months or longer.
So, remission is not the absence of the disease, but the successful management of its symptoms. It’s a state of health and stability.
This view contrasts with the well-known 12-step program view that “in recovery” means an individual is on the right path and condemns those who drop out as not “in recovery”or not “working the program” adequately [5].
Why “Remission” is a More Effective Term Than “Cured”
The evolution in thinking about recovery as part of a disease model of addictions, highlights a shift away from the concept of “cured” to the more process-oriented and realistic view of “remission”, just as in other chronic conditions. Remission has three main aspects:
A. Reduces Stigma and Shame:
Just like a flare-up in other chronic illnesses, relapse is seen as a normal part of the addictions disease process. This is an important departure from viewing relapse as a moral failing or a sign of personal weakness. As such, it encourages individuals to seek help quickly without feeling they have completely failed.
B. A Focus on Ongoing Management:
While in remission, a person manages their recovery with various types of therapy, support groups such as 12-step or SMART Recovery, medication, and lifestyle changes. This is similar to a diabetic managing their condition with insulin and diet. As such, recovery is viewed as an active, continuous process of being in “remission”.
C. Works Towards Measurable Goals:
The stages of early and sustained remission offer clear, clinical milestones to celebrate. As well as providing a sense of achievement. This reinforces motivation to continue the journey.
The Stages of Remission in Recovery
Remission has two main stages, as follows:
Early Remission (Year One):
- Focus: Stabilization without using substances; developing a foundation for continued recovery; developing new skills for coping.
- Challenges: High risk of relapse; managing triggers; physical and psychological healing.
- Common Strategies: Intensive outpatient programs (IOP), regular therapy, early engagement with support groups (AA/NA/SMART Recovery), and potentially medication-assisted treatment (MAT).
Sustained Remission (Year Two and Beyond):
- Focus: Deepening recovery; rebuilding life (relationships, career, finances); and developing new purpose in life.
- Challenges: Complacency, overconfidence, encountering new life stressors without substances.
- Common Strategies: Continued but often less frequent therapy, strong involvement in a support community, mentoring others, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
The Concept of “Recovery Capital”
This concept has been developed to describe that the more resources (social, financial, health, community) a person has, the more resilient they are in maintaining remission.
An Example: 7 Steps in Opioid Recovery and Remission
Within this framework, one view of being in recovery from opioid abuse is that a person who once qualified for a diagnosis of opioid use disorder no longer meets the criteria for that diagnosis, including these 7 elements [6].
- No Longer Using Opioids
- Fewer Opioid Cravings, possibly with medication-assisted treatment
- Coping With Opioid Cravings and Other Stressors
- Having a Stable Living Situation
- Having Good Relationships
- Reengaging in Daily Activities
- Finding Meaning and Purpose
What Sustains Remission? The Tools for Long-Term Success
Behavioral Therapies
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), and Contingency Management are all evidence-based therapies for addictions and help change thought and behavior patterns.
Social Support
12-step groups, non-12-step groups, sober friends, and repaired family relationships are all key elements of social support.
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)
For opioids and alcohol, medications like buprenorphine, naltrexone, and acamprosate can be life-saving tools that stabilize brain chemistry and reduce cravings.
Lifestyle Integration
Foundations for mental and physical health, rest on good nutrition, exercise, sleep hygiene, and mindfulness meditation.
Purpose and Connection
A fulfilling life in recovery involves engaging in work, school, hobbies, and community service.
A Lifelong Journey of Health and Growth
So, “remission” reframes the process of recovery as a manageable, long-term health journey, not an “either/or” state of “sick” vs. “being cured.”
Being in remission is a significant achievement. It represents reclaiming life, with growth, self-awareness, and resilience, one step at a time.
Within this medical lens, remission is viewed with compassion instead of judgment, and those in recovery can develop their strengths to celebrate every day and every stage of their remission.
Get Expert Help at Legacy Recovery Center
Legacy Recovery Center is a highly rated, premier addiction and mental health treatment center in Arizona. Legacy is owned and operated by two psychiatrists with over 40 years of combined experience, as well as a robust therapeutic team. We’re unique among residential treatment centers thanks to our ability to help people suffering from mental health and/or substance abuse issues. Our expert psychiatric team is equipped to treat multiple issues concurrently. Our approach is unique in that it focuses on your specific needs. Contact us today!
Sources
[1] SAMHSA. Recovery and Recovery Support.
[2] SAMHSA. About Recovery.
[3] ASAM. 2019. Definition of Addiction.
[4] ASAAM. nd. The ASAM Criteria, 4th Edition.
[5] Dodes L. 2014. What Does It Mean to Be “In Recovery?”. Psychology Today.
[6] MyOpioidRecoveryTeam. 2025. Opioid Use Disorder in Remission: 7 Signs of Recovery.