The Living Room  also challenges the following assumptions:

 

• People with addictions don’t recover.

• Those seeking treatment have too many problems to expect long term recovery.

• Recovery is distinct from treatment.

• Those with mental illness and addiction can only be addressed in acute care settings.

• Prevention only needs to happen before treatment.

• Treatment can only get better if you throw more money at it; otherwise, you can change very little.

• All the services anyone would need meet a diagnostic code and can be billed for.

• The role of the professional is to direct the care and the client.

• Recovery is somehow going to undermine professionally driven treatment.

• Recovery comes after treatment, or one does not need treatment.

• Treatment relationships are helping relationships.

• Treatment programmes exist apart from the community and we can’t afford to do outreach.

 

The only requirement for membership of the Living Room is that you say you’re in recovery or have an interest in recovery.