UB researchers test recovery capital training for addiction care

The Buffalo News and local Bee Newspapers reported that a team of UB School of Social Work researchers, in partnership with Horizon Health Services, have received a $200,000 grant from the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports to test a program that prepares clinicians to integrate recovery capital into care planning for people recovering from substance use disorders. Recovery capital refers to the social, physical, personal and cultural resources that support someone’s recovery from addiction.

Elizabeth Bowen and Jangmin Kim, both associate professors in the School of Social Work, are co-principal investigators on the project; Samantha Koury, co-director of the school’s Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care, is a co-investigator. 

“Although the addiction treatment field has made significant strides beyond abstinence-based models and outcomes, there remains a need for clinical tools that support this shift,” says Jennifer Cervi, MSW ’07, Horizon’s clinical director of integrated services. “The Multidimensional Inventory of Recovery Capital (MIRC) training and implementation offers a tangible resource to help clinicians translate principles into meaningful therapeutic practice.”