MIRC developer Elizabeth Bowen explains how personal priorities and connected barriers can guide a practical conversation about recovery support.
When several things make recovery harder, begin with the problem you most want help with. Then consider whether that problem is connected to another one. If you want more connection with other people but cannot get to the places where you would meet them, transportation may be a useful starting point.
Dr. Elizabeth Bowen, Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, told AddictionHelp.com about this approach. Bowen led the team that developed the Multidimensional Inventory of Recovery Capital, or MIRC, a tool for looking at the resources and barriers in a person’s recovery. Her advice helps turn that reflection into a concrete conversation about support.[1][2]
What Recovery Capital Means in Everyday Life
Recovery capital means the resources that can support recovery from problems with alcohol or other drugs. It includes relationships, practical resources, personal skills and sources of cultural connection. Looking at recovery capital also means recognizing the circumstances that make recovery harder.[2]
The MIRC is a recovery capital assessment covering four areas: social, physical, human and cultural capital. In everyday terms, those areas include the people you can turn to, resources such as housing and transportation, skills and knowledge you can draw on, and cultural values or activities that support you.[2]
This gives a support conversation more to work with than a general wish to “do better.” A person may have a supportive friend and useful coping skills while still having trouble getting to an appointment or a social activity. The practical barrier deserves attention alongside those strengths.
For a broader explanation of recovery pathways and support, see our guide to addiction recovery.
Choosing a Recovery Support Priority with the MIRC
Your own priorities should guide where the conversation begins, Bowen said.
“A client or individual’s priorities should inform what to address first,” she told AddictionHelp.com. Some people, she explained, may want to work on transportation, while others would rather focus on isolation.[1]
She also suggested considering whether one barrier contributes to another. A lack of transportation options, for example, may be part of why someone feels isolated. In that situation, discussing transportation could be a way to work toward the person’s goal of connection.[1]
This emphasis on the person’s priorities also appears in independent guidance for peer support workers. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration describes peer support as voluntary and directed by the person receiving it, with support shaped around that person’s goals, preferences and identified needs. That guidance supports a collaborative conversation. It is not an endorsement or test of the MIRC itself.[3]
An Illustrative Conversation About Transportation and Isolation
The following is a hypothetical example based on Bowen’s explanation, not a patient account or a set of MIRC questions.
Imagine that you want to spend more time with supportive people, but getting to an activity you are interested in is difficult. You could tell a peer support worker, counselor or trusted supporter:
“I want more connection with people, but getting there is part of the problem. Can we look at one activity I want to attend and find out what transportation options I could actually use?”
A manageable first step could be checking the route, schedule and cost for that particular trip together. That makes the question specific enough to investigate. It does not assume a ride or service is available.
If transportation is not the main barrier, the conversation can follow what is. Perhaps you can reach the activity but do not feel comfortable arriving alone. A different request might be to talk through whom you would feel comfortable asking to accompany you. These are possible conversation starters, not a tested sequence of interventions.
The useful question is: What is one barrier you want to work on, and what would help you take the next step?
A Low MIRC Score Is a Reason to Discuss Support
A low score can point toward barriers or resources that need attention. It does not decide your recovery prospects. The University at Buffalo’s guidance explicitly says the MIRC is not an indicator of who will succeed in recovery.[2]
“A MIRC score is not intended to be a judgment on someone’s recovery,” Bowen said. She described recovery capital as changeable, while emphasizing that some things are easier to change than others and that people have different degrees of control over them.[1]
That distinction matters in the transportation example. Identifying a difficult trip may help you explain what support you need, but recognizing the problem does not create a bus route, make a fare affordable or put those decisions under your control. A useful discussion can acknowledge the obstacle without turning it into a judgment about your effort.
What MIRC Research Tells Us About Choosing Support
The original MIRC development study tested how well the tool measured recovery capital. It did not test whether using MIRC results to choose services improved recovery outcomes. Published in 2023, its final phase included 482 people who reported resolving an alcohol problem, either alone or alongside problems with other drugs.[4] That study did not establish the measure’s validity for people whose recovery history did not involve alcohol.[4]
That research gives a basis for using the tool to examine recovery resources. It does not establish a formula for which support an individual should receive first. Bowen’s advice here is her explanation of how to approach that conversation as a developer of the instrument.
You can find the MIRC and its instructions on the University at Buffalo’s official resource page. If you use it, bring the part that matters most to you into your next support conversation. Start with the change you want, describe what gets in the way, and work together on one concrete question you can investigate.
People We Spoke With
Dr. Elizabeth Bowen, Associate Professor, University at Buffalo School of Social Work. Bowen, who led development of the MIRC, provided written answers to AddictionHelp.com about choosing support priorities and interpreting a low score.
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