Recovery

Over the last five years Rethink has been establishing a recovery-orientated approach across many organisational activities, to ensure we safeguard and promote the warm, listening and personal approach people tell us they value so highly. The early work we did in a number of services that became learning sites is summarised in a final recovery report (254 kb) .

Recovery can be defined as a personal process of tackling the adverse impact of experiencing mental health problems, despite their continuing or long-term presence. Used in this sense, recovery does not mean "cure".

Recovery is about people seeing themselves as capable of recovery rather than as passive recipients of professional interventions. The personal accounts of recovery suggest that much personal recovery happens without (or in some cases in spite of) professional help.

Recovery involves personal development and change, including acceptance there are problems to face, a sense of involvement and control over one's life, the cultivation of hope and using the support from others, including collaborating in solution-focused work with informal carers and professional workers.

Some people recovering from mental illness claim that this "disability" has increased the depth and reach of their lives. Out of adversity has come change, personal development and growth. This is in stark contrast to the still predominant yet rarely spoken belief that people may never make a recovery.

Those who have made their own personal recovery have provided important accounts of their experience. Mary Ellen Copeland has turned her experiences into self-help strategies for others. Mary Ellen’s significant contribution has been in creating and developing WRAP (wellness recovery action planning). More information on WRAP is available at: http://www.mentalhealthrecovery.com/. 

Recovery starts with the individual and works from the inside out. For this reason it is personalised. It challenges traditional approaches in mental health and to reorganise the way people are supported and involved in their own recovery. It is consistent with the recent drive towards mental well-being and the improvement necessary to affect the whole of a person’s life, rather than only addressing individual problems in isolation.

Rethink and recovery

• A focus on goals, not problems
• Valuing the strengths people bring to their personal recovery 
• Respecting self-directedness 
• Creating an environment that supports personal recovery and valuing small steps.

Recovery was not invented by Rethink. It has a long and fruitful tradition in the US, New Zealand and Australia, which includes personal accounts of recovery written by such figures as Pat Deegan (see summary of account of Pat Deegan's recovery journey (35 kb) ). In recent years it has also had strategic importance in Ireland. It is starting to gain momentum in the UK and is supported by a NIMHE Guiding Statement which is available from the NIMHE website.

Across Rethink and with partner organisations we have taken up opportunities to be involved in disseminating, promoting and learning more about recovery. Two recent presentations are linked here: Wolverhampton Recovery Conference Presentation (207 kb)  and London Recovery Network Day Presentation (70 kb) .

We have also found that recovery links to other work Rethink has done in the past, for example in the development of CUES: carers and users expectation of services (509 kb) , which has been useful for some individuals and teams in identifying areas for work towards personal recovery. Rethink has also supported new accounts of personal recovery stories. Zoe McIntosh’s book of 14 accounts present challenging stories from the front line. View the article on the launch of "From Goldfish Bowl To Ocean" (35 kb) .

Recovery has important links to self help and self management. David Martyn has been instrumental in taking this work forward with a large group of individuals who have engaged with Rethink’s Self-management programme.