Speaker Name: Dr. Paul Farnan
Session Description:
Primary care remains the most consistent point of contact for people navigating addiction and recovery — and one of the least prepared, since many clinicians were never trained in recovery science, recovery capital, or recovery-oriented systems of care. This session reclaims the healer’s role: reframing primary care as a gateway to sustained recovery rather than crisis management.
Drawing on experience in family, occupational, and addiction medicine, as well as lived recovery, the presentation blends reflective wisdom with practical tools — recovery-oriented language, recovery capital assessment, and structured recovery check-ups — that can be embedded into routine care and adapted by professionals who support recovery alongside physicians. It also considers employers as an underused source of recovery capital, the value of healing traditions outside conventional medicine, including Indigenous approaches to wellness, and the clinical and medico-legal complexities that test these principles in practice.
The goal is to renew hope, professional meaning, and clinical confidence — equipping primary care and its partners to become architects of recovery rather than managers of crisis.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Describe key lessons from decades of addiction and occupational medicine that support recovery-oriented primary care.
- Recognize how recovery and recovery capital reframe addiction as a treatable and hopeful condition, informed by both clinical evidence and diverse healing traditions.
- Apply recovery-oriented language and recovery check-ups in routine practice, while navigating the clinical and medico-legal realities of everyday care.
- Identify how community, workplace, and peer-based resources — including the influence employers have on a patient’s recovery trajectory — can be mobilized to support long-term recovery.
References:
Day, E., Pechey, L. C., Roscoe, S., & Kelly, J. F. (2025). Recovery support services as part of the continuum of care for alcohol or drug use disorders. Addiction, 120(8), 1497–1520.
Bliuc AM, Best D, Hennessy EA, Belanger M, Benwell C. Measuring recovery capital for people recovering from alcohol and drug addiction: A systematic review. Addict Res Theory. 2024;32(3):225-236. doi: 10.1080/16066359.2023.2245323. Epub 2023 Aug 18. PMID: 39045096; PMCID: PMC11262562.
Els, C., Durnin-Goodman, M., Farnan, P. et al. Recovery-Friendly Workplaces: Recommendations for Employers, Employees, and the Occupational Medicine Community. SN Compr. Clin. Med. 7, 252 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42399-025-01966-5
BIO
Experienced consultant with over 30 years of practice at the interface of occupational and addiction medicine. Expertise in disability management, substance use disorders, and recovery science, especially relating to safety-sensitive and safety-critical industries. Extensive experience providing independent medical evaluations (IMEs) for health professionals, the aviation industry, disability insurance companies, employers, and unions. Recognized as a proficient presenter and facilitator with a particular interest in educator and trainer on Recovery and Recovery Inclusive Workplace initiatives.