Locked Up and Locked Out: Client Perspectives on Personal Relationships While in Compulsory Drug Treatment

This qualitative study explores clients’ perspectives on their personal relationships while in compulsory drug treatment. Interviews with 31 participants (14 female and 17 male) were conducted at four compulsory treatment institutions for adults who use drugs in Sweden. Taken together, our study reveals that clients in general had to struggle to maintain social relationships due to strict restrictions on their interpersonal contact and communication. Feelings of isolation and anxiety characterized much of their relationships during the treatment period, with emotional withdrawal commonly described as a way to cope. Moreover, some participants expressed shame and guilt over the pain and suffering they had subjected their family members to through their drug use, feelings that put additional strain on the contact. The emotionally and socially significant relationships described by our interviewees provide links to other personal roles and settings than those prescribed by the institution. At the studied institutions, however, little attention was given to this relational dimension of the clients’ situation. Based on the results of the present study, possibilities for improvement of compulsory drug treatment are discussed.