“I know if I drink I won’t feel anything”: Substance use relapse among depressed women leaving prison

– The purpose of this paper is to explore treatment needs and factors contributing to engagement in substance use and sobriety among women with co-occurring substance use and major depressive disorders (MDDs) as they return to the community from prison. – The paper used qualitative methods to evaluate the perspectives of 15 women with co-occurring substance use and MDDs on the circumstances surrounding their relapse and recovery episodes following release from a US prison. Women were recruited in prison; qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews conducted after prison release and were analyzed using grounded theory analysis. Survey data from 39 participants supplemented qualitative findings. – Results indicated that relationship, emotion, and mental health factors influenced women's first post-prison substance use. Women attributed episodes of recovery to sober and social support, treatment, and building on recovery work done in prison. However, they described a need for comprehensive pre-release planning and post-release treatment that would address mental health, family, and housing/employment and more actively assist them in overcoming barriers to care. – In-prison and aftercare treatment should help depressed, substance using women prisoners reduce or manage negative affect, improve relationships, and obtain active and comprehensive transitional support. – Women with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders are a high-risk population for negative post-release outcomes, but limited information exists regarding the processes by which they relapse or retain recovery after release from prison. Findings inform treatment and aftercare development efforts. © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited