Promoting radical healing to facilitate community capacity building among formerly incarcerated Black and Latino men with substance use disorders

This study reports on a qualitative thematic analysis of secondary data from group session recordings collected as part of the Community Wise Optimization Trial. Community Wise is a multilevel behavioral intervention designed to increase critical consciousness and reduce substance use among formerly incarcerated men living in predominantly Black and historically disinvested communities (BHDC). Radical healing is a process of recovering from the trauma of oppression based on identification with historically marginalized groups. The current analysis sought to examine if there is evidence of radical healing components (critical consciousness, radical hope, strength and resistance, cultural authenticity and self-knowledge, and collectivism or emotional and social support) in Community Wise's group sessions. Results revealed evidence of all radical healing components in Community Wise participants' rich narratives as they engaged in critical dialogue and explored ways to improve their communities. Given a lack of culturally relevant approaches, this study's findings provide supporting evidence for the incorporation of the radical healing framework in interventions seeking to enhance treatment outcomes and address social determinants of health in BHDC.