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Recovery

Recovery is the personal process that people with mental illness go through in gaining control, meaning and purpose in their lives. Recovery involves different things for different people. For some, recovery means the complete absence of the symptoms of mental illness. For others, recovery means living a full life in the community while learning to live with ongoing symptoms.

The goal of many mental health services and treatments is now recovery. This wasn’t always the case. In the past, mental health professionals told people with mental illness and their families that most illnesses got worse over time. People were told to lower their expectations.

People with mental illness challenged these pessimistic assumptions. Researchers began to study how consumers lived their lives over the decades and found that many people did in fact get better. New and more effective medical treatments and social supports developed.

Recovery involves changes in the way individuals with mental illness think, act and feel about themselves and the possibilities in their lives. It also requires changes in the ways services are funded and organized, mental health professionals are trained, and success is measured. Recovery is about transforming the mental health system so that it truly puts the person at the centre.

Many mental health systems have said that recovery is the goal of their services. “Out of the Shadows at Last,” the final report of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, says “recovery must be at the centre of mental health reform.”¹

In Ontario, the Provincial Forum of Mental Health Implementation Task Forces said “the philosophy that recovery — as defined by the individual, not by service providers — is possible for all people living with mental illness is central to the Provincial Forum’s vision for reform.”²

Related Resources

Recovery Rediscovered: Implications for the Ontario Mental Health System

In this 2003 CMHA, Ontario document, the authors explore the implications of a recovery model for Ontario's mental health system, and present 30 recommendations to guide the development of a mental health system that is truly recovery oriented.

Bibliography of Recovery Resources

A comprehensive annotated bibliography, compiled in 2002, of publications about recovery.

Recovery: The Emergence of New Life from the Depths of Winter, Network (Winter 2003)

This edition of CMHA, Ontario’s magazine focuses on the theme of recovery.

National Consensus Statement on Mental Health Recovery (USA)

The agency of the American government responsible for mental health services has worked with over a hundred stakeholders to create a definition of recovery. This includes the key aspects of recovery. The goal is to transform the mental health system to promote recovery for everyone with a mental illness.

Repository of Recovery Resources (USA)

Maintained by the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University, this site includes articles, documents, policy, websites and other resources about recovery. It is designed to support the move towards recovery-oriented mental health systems.

Mental Health Recovery (USA)

This is the site of Mary Ellen Copeland’s Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP). The program helps consumer/survivors take control of their own recovery by making a plan based on their own preferences, values and goals.

Institute for the Study of Human Resilience (USA)

Located at Boston University in the United States, this site includes academic articles written by Courtney Harding and Pat Deegan on recovery.

Notes

1. Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (2006), “Out of the Shadows at Last: Transforming Mental Health, Mental Illness and Addiction Services in Canada,” www.parl.gc.ca. (HTML | PDF: Part 1, Part 2).
2. Provincial Forum of Mental Health Implementation Task Force Chairs (2002), The Time Is Now: Themes and Recommendations for Mental Health Reform in Ontario: Final Report of the Provincial Forum of Mental Health Implementation Task Force Chairs, www.health.gov.on.ca (PDF).