PURPOSE There is a pressing need for substance use services to know more about how to promote recovery from substance use problems, particularly in later life. Psychological sense of community (PSOC) is an important recovery dimension. This study aims to clarify in what ways PSOC and communities influence later life recovery processes.

METHOD A collaborative and deductive reflexive thematic approach was used to analyse 23 interviews with older adults in recovery from different substance use problems.

RESULTS The findings suggest that PSOC and recovery in later life include multiple communities (relational, geographical, substance use-related, ideal and service-related) and affective states (PSOC and NPSOC). Older adults' recovery, moreover, can be described as personal and heterogenic (with respect to community relationships, individual needs, type of substance use problem, age of onset and meaningful activities).

CONCLUSIONS The findings confirm age of onset, type of substance use problem and community memberships as essential to later life recovery. They also supplement prior evidence on community resources and challenges to later life recovery. Importantly, the new findings extend and nuance current understandings of later life recovery. Taken together, the article illustrates MPSOC as a useful concept, with central practical and theoretical implications for later life recovery.