Social Work and Recovery (original) (raw)

The Place of Social Recovery in Mental Health and Related Services

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

This article looks at the place of social recovery in mental health and social care services, alongside personal recovery. Despite its conceptual and practice centrality to the new meaning of recovery, social recovery has remained a relatively neglected dimension. This article attempts to provide an updated critical commentary based on findings from fifty nine studies, including a variety of research methodologies and methods. Definitions of social recovery within the new meaning of recovery are looked at. This is followed by outlining the development and significance of this dimension as reflected in the key areas of shared decision making, co-production and active citizenship, re-entering employment after experiencing mental ill health, being in employment, poverty and coping with poverty, the economic and the scientific cases for social recovery. The article highlights the connections between service users' experiencing mental health and social care systems, and the implications of ideologies and policies reflecting positions on social recovery. The complexity of social recovery is indicated in each of these areas; the related conceptual and methodological frameworks developed to research this dimension, and key achievements and barriers concerning everyday practice application of social recovery. The summary indicates potential future development perspectives of this dimension.

The petals of recovery in a mental health context

British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing)

In the last 10 years the concept of recovery has entered the discussion on mental health. Since then it has been surrounded in debate - from advocates who suggest that there is a need to build mental health services on recovery principles, to people who suggest that there is insufficient 'empirical' evidence to support a reorientation of services. The focus of this article is on exploring the concept of recovery as both a process and an approach to care.

Uses and abuses of recovery: implementing recovery-oriented practices in mental health systems

World Psychiatry, 2014

An understanding of recovery as a personal and subjective experience has emerged within mental health systems. This meaning of recovery now underpins mental health policy in many countries. Developing a focus on this type of recovery will involve transformation within mental health systems. Human systems do not easily transform. In this paper, we identify seven mis-uses ("abuses") of the concept of recovery: recovery is the latest model; recovery does not apply to "my" patients; services can make people recover through effective treatment; compulsory detention and treatment aid recovery; a recovery orientation means closing services; recovery is about making people independent and normal; and contributing to society happens only after the person is recovered. We then identify ten empirically-validated interventions which support recovery, by targeting key recovery processes of connectedness, hope, identity, meaning and empowerment (the CHIME framework). The ten interventions are peer support workers, advance directives, wellness recovery action planning, illness management and recovery, REFOCUS, strengths model, recovery colleges or recovery education programs, individual placement and support, supported housing, and mental health trialogues. Finally, three scientific challenges are identified: broadening cultural understandings of recovery, implementing organizational transformation, and promoting citizenship.

The Rediscovered Concept of Recovery in Mental Illness

2014

recovery has recently reemerged in many countries as a key concept in mental health. Several long-term outcome studies have highlighted much higher recovery rates than previously assumed for persons with long-term mental illness. Service users (consumers) and professionals are now promoting this approach, and for users, recovery is about taking control over their own lives and introducing improvements which may or may not be related to clinical indicators of recovery. this approach also requires that professionals work with consumers in a much more collaborative fashion then in the past. australia, Canada, england, and israel have all formally accepted recovery as the cornerstone of their mental health policies and are currently in various phases of implementation. this paper describes these developments and identifies the implications for mental health social work.

Narratives of Mental Health Recovery

Brown, W. (2008). Narratives of Mental Health Recovery. [Refereed Journal Article]. Social Alternatives Journal, 27(4), 42-48. This article presents narratives of mental health recovery to investigate and better understand the journey towards recovery for individuals in Scotland. Findings from a research study conducted with this group suggest that recovery is a process – a life journey that has ups and downs. It amounts to much more than an absence of symptoms of illness. Although individual conceptualisations of recovery vary, common themes emerge that link recovery experiences. These include the central role of having hope and being optimistic about their future, having meaning and purpose in one’s life, being valued for social contributions and having trusting, respectful, and reciprocal relationships. Timely access to the right combination of treatment and supports can help individuals better navigate their recovery journeys. Findings provide evidence that people who experience mental health problems can have expertise of their own problems, and many of the most valuable lessons about recovery can be learned from these individuals. Narrators describe recovery as a transformative process sometimes ignited by a turning point, but often acknowledged through refl ection.

An analysis of the definitions and elements of recovery: A review of the literature

Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 2007

Article As mental health recovery gains traction, many people have put forward varying definitions. Few attempts have been made to create a dimensional analysis of the recovery literature that assesses the growing consensus about what recovery is or what its definition should entail. This paper incorporates an ecological framework to take the individual's life context into account while emphasizing both the reestablishment of one's mental health (i.e., first order change) and the mitigation of the oppressive nature of barriers imposed by the greater community (i.e., second order change) so that people may experience social integration and community inclusion.