Visions Journal

A personal and professional perspective on addiction recovery

Roz Sayani, RCC

Reprinted from the The Ongoing Journey of Recovery: Recovery across the lifespan issue of Visions Journal, 2025, 20 (3), pp. 13-14

I was just eight when I discovered ways to numb out my experiences and emotions. Over time, more dysfunction came into my life and I became consumed with addiction. I have experienced homelessness in the Downtown Eastside, as well as in Vernon for several years.

I tried treatment—13 times. When it didn't work, I blamed them and carried on with my addiction. I later realized it wasn't really about the program. It was more about where I was at and how willing I was to heal. My family attempted to support me but to no avail. Finally, I was forced to take a break from my addiction, and that is what inspired me to seek recovery. I stayed clean and began to slowly get my life back.

I knew that I wanted to give back what I had learned and help others start on the path of wellness. I completed an addictions counselling certificate and eventually a master's. I'm now a Registered Clinical Counsellor with a private practice.

The power of in-reach

I now have the opportunity to support those in recovery settings as part of their in-reach program. People have often heard of outreach, where we provide community members with available resources—like offering medical services to marginalized communities through street nurses.

In-reach is quite different. It's the act of engaging and supporting individuals who are already part of an organization or system, fostering their involvement and ensuring their needs are met. In addiction many factors are often at play, like trauma or mental health issues. We have to deal with these issues, otherwise the client is sent back into substance misuse. Providing in-reach is imperative in helping the client achieve long-term abstinence.

A recovery house often has in-reach, as they provide services like therapy, psychiatry and doctors to the members of that house. In-reach services also provide a full assessment of a person and treatment planning that will lead to success.

It's important for any facility assisting with recovery to have qualified multidisciplinary staff available to assess clients' specific needs. They should be able to:

• see addiction counsellors

• meet with therapists

• get advice from medical and psychiatry professionals

• have access to develop and build a sense of spirituality, however the client sees fit

These things are imperative in giving the individual a chance to be successful in recovery. Am I an expert on each of these things? No! But I get to share with clients what I've learned, not only from my lived experience, but also from extensive study of addictions and recovery from addictions.

Currently, I work with the Mood Disorders Association/Lookout Housing Society, which allows me to attend their residential programs and provide one-on-one counselling for residents. This work lets me give back to a community in which people may not have the financial resources to seek assistance in this way.

I attend three recovery-based sites once a week and provide therapy to clients of those facilities. This gives people consistency and lets them use the service for their time at the centre. At one of the sites I visit, I lead a workshop on dialectical behaviour therapy skills to assist clients in their daily life.

Rethinking our story

The purpose of attending a treatment program is to have the continuous care and monitoring that's often necessary in early recovery. Attending a treatment facility helps guide people in learning how to manage their symptoms, which, in turn, helps counteract the disruptive effects of addiction and lets them regain control of their life.

My main therapeutic approach is called narrative therapy, which addresses the stories we’ve developed throughout our lives. Often, we live by these stories regardless of how they serve us. Narrative therapy looks for alternative stories and strengthens stories that better reflect who we are.

For example, a client may express that they are inadequate. As the therapist, I help guide them to find examples of when their actions have been adequate, and we strengthen these to become the dominate story.

I also use a variety of other interventions and techniques, and I operate from a trauma-informed approach, with a great deal of experience in addictions, trauma and mood disorders.

Holistic help

An ideal approach to treatment, in my view, is holistic. I believe this is more successful in helping a drug-using population. This means, ideally, a facility that offers more than group sessions for clients.

Often people aren't willing to discuss their traumas and individual concerns in a group setting. Also, there's room for various other professionals to assist in the recovery process, like providers of medical care and psychiatry. My role, for example, is to provide oneon- one counselling to help the client process their experiences, trauma and mental health concerns.

For those who struggle with addiction, I'd say the starting point is detox. Then, ideally, that person can find a program that uses a multidisciplinary approach and incorporates all services needed to heal from the results of addiction.

Often, recovery programs are not enough to secure recovery. In that situation, I'd recommend second-stage housing, which is designed to still provide some safety and monitoring, but allows for the individual to start setting up their life for success.

I will always be grateful to the therapist who was there for me in treatment. She helped me to work through some of my experiences and traumas. Now I get to do this for others.