Do financial rewards cheapen recovery?

Most of the time, people in recovery get punished for doing the wrong thing -- we believe in rewarding them for doing the right thing.

Recognizing people for the positive efforts they’re making can help people feel proud of their recovery, instead of feeling guilt and shame over their addiction. This has been seen in hundreds of studies of financial incentives for recovery from addiction.

For example, one patient who participated in one of these studies said, “I used to think the drug dealer cared for me, but this is really caring” (Kellogg 2005).