Recovery ? What is the Recovery Approach and why do we want it?

HOPE

A Recovery-oriented system of care is an integrated network of culturally- responsive routine and non-routine primary and secondary mental health, substance misuse, social care and other services that supports the promotion of Recovery of people with mental health problems/substance misuse.

Consider the meanings we exchange: Handovers/Reports/ s Case Histories Casual Conversations …do they support ‘Recovery’ or ‘Chronicity’?

‘ The cause of chronicity, which has long been sought within the individual (biological or psychological characteristics) is not inherent in the illness itself,a part of the natural order, but rather is clearly connected with the person’s life in society.’ (Topor 2000)

‘Chronicity arises in part by telling dead or static stories, situating the individual in a wasteland, a denervated place, robbed of its fertility and potential’ Arthur Kleinman (1988) ‘The Illness Narratives: Suffering, Healing, and the Human Condition’

Dynamics of recovery How you say it is how you see it Are the ‘chronically ill’ beyond recovery?

What inhibits recovery? Most people recover from most things most of the time. Recovery is a natural process so what’s getting in the way?

RECOVERY THEMES Recovery is a process that is unique for each person Discovering hope for recovery is essential Finding a persistent and resilient self enables recovery Recovery means taking personal responsibility for instituting purposeful action and active coping Finding meaning in ‘mental illness’ experiences promotes recovery Recovery involves finding personal supports, activities and an environment that will support growth and development Recovery is a non-linear process with spirals and difficult passages Recovery is not simply about symptom elimination but is an active on-going process of self-directed healing and transformation Thriving can be the result of recovering from experiences due to ‘mental illness and other adverse experiences

Understanding the dynamics of recovery – what really makes a difference? What promotes recovery? What inhibits recovery? (

We could reflect on our capacity to engage in ‘hope inspiring relationships’ and look for ways of building upon them

A shift in professional role relationships From authority/expert to educator and coach

A definition of Mental Health Mental Health is the emotional and spiritual resilience which enables us to enjoy life and survive pain, disappointment and sadness. It is a positive sense of well-being and an underlying belief in our own worth, and the dignity and worth of others’ From: Promoting Mental Health – The role of Faith Communities – Jewish and Christian Perspectives HEA

Recovery Recovery is a journey as much as a destination. It is different for everyone. For some people with mental illness, recovery is a road they travel on only once or twice, to a destination that is relatively easy to find. For others, recovery is a maze with an elusive destination, a maze that takes a lifetime to navigate. Recovery is happening when people can live well in the presence or absence of their mental illness and the many losses that may come in its wake, such as isolation, poverty, unemployment, and discrimination. Recovery does not always mean that people will return to full health or retrieve all their losses, but it does mean that people can live well in spite of them. (NZ Mental Health Commission 1998)

Open to all? Aren’t some people too disabled, their problems too difficult, their difficulties too long standing to be beyond hope of recovery? ….. and isn’t holding out such hope of recovery unrealistic and unkind? Well …no …but….

It all depends on what you mean by ‘recovery’…

The difference between: recovery of the disorder in the person and recovery of the person with or without the disorder

Definitions of Recovery (Extract from the NIMHE Guiding Statement on Recovery) Recovery is what people experience themselves as they become empowered to manage their mental illness and/or substance misuse in a manner that allows them to achieve a meaningful life and a positive sense of belonging in their community Recovery is not what services do to or for people.

The goal of recovery is not to become normal. The goal is to embrace the human vocation of becoming more deeply more fully human Deegan, 1996