Personal Recovery and Mental Illness

Recovery is a concept which has emerged from the experiences of people with mental illness. It involves a shift away from traditional clinical preoccupations such as managing risk and avoiding relapse, towards new priorities of supporting the person in working towards their own goals and taking responsibility for their own life. This book sets an agenda for mental health services internationally, by converting these ideas of recovery into an action plan for professionals. The underlying principles are explored, and five reasons identified for why supporting recovery should be the primary goal. A new conceptual basis for mental health services is described – the Personal Recovery Framework – which gives primacy to the person over the illness, and identifies the contribution of personal and social identity to recovery. These are brought to life through twenty-six case studies from around the world.