New research suggests the staff member most able to help them may be someone who has faced the same struggle personally.
A qualitative study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, led by Professor Loren Brener of the University of New South Wales (UNSW), draws on interviews with 36 workers across alcohol, drug, and mental health services in Australia.
Participants included peer workers, counselors, psychologists, and social workers, and despite their different job titles, they converged on one point: lived and living experience of substance use functions as a form of professional expertise in addiction treatment settings.
Why Lived Experience Builds Trust in Addiction Treatment
Brener, a social psychologist who studies stigma and discrimination, said workers who have lived through substance use or mental health challenges can identify with clients in ways that purely clinical training does not replicate.
“They bring an immediate sense of empathy and create a non-judgmental environment where people feel safe to share their stories,” she said.
That matters because many people entering addiction treatment have already experienced shame, stigma, and setbacks before they walk through the door.
Recovery rarely moves in a straight line, and returning to treatment after a relapse can carry its own weight of guilt. Workers who have navigated those same realities may be positioned to recognize them without a client needing to explain.
The study found clients often identify these workers without anyone announcing a title or credential. According to Brener, clients “can identify the people who have that real depth of understanding and credibility.”
Beyond Empathy Practical Navigation
The research also pointed to a more concrete function these workers serve. Several described accompanying clients to appointments with other services, helping them navigate health care, legal systems, or child protection processes, systems the workers themselves had once struggled to negotiate.
That hands-on support may reduce a barrier that keeps many people from following through on treatment referrals, since not knowing how the surrounding system works or fearing judgment can stop someone from asking for help at all.
Participants also pointed to hope as a distinct outcome. For clients who struggle to imagine a life beyond their substance use or mental health challenges, seeing a staff member who has built a career and a stable life after similar struggles can make recovery feel possible in a way that reassurance alone cannot.
What This Means for Treatment Seekers
For someone comparing addiction treatment programs, this research points to a practical question worth asking during intake: does this program employ peer workers or staff with lived experience of substance use, and how are they integrated into care?
Programs that formally recognize lived experience as expertise, rather than treating it as an informal bonus, may offer a different quality of engagement than those relying on clinical staff alone.
The researchers noted that this benefit depends on organizational support. Workers need supervision, protection from burnout, and genuine involvement in how services are designed, not just a job title. Programs that fail to provide this support risk losing the value lived-experience staff can offer.
Exploring Treatment Options
People weighing their options can look for programs that combine clinical care with peer support and lived-experience staff, alongside other markers of quality like accreditation and transparent treatment approaches.
Understanding how programs structure their care teams, including medication-assisted treatment where appropriate, can help treatment seekers find a fit that addresses both clinical needs and the trust-building relationships that make early engagement more likely.
Rehab.com’s directory includes verified treatment centers across the country with addiction treatment staff who have lived experience. Call
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