Consensus about the value of recovery-based health systems and programs grows, but how are they best implemented?
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. But now recovery is the goal—and it can mean anything from the complete absence of the symptoms of mental illness to living a full life in the community while learning to live with ongoing symptoms. [Source: Canadian Mental Health Association]
What is the “recovery model” and how does it differ from old school approaches? And how can a recovery model be implemented? (more…)
Anti-psychiatry
Pat Deegan is a clinical psychologist and also a psychiatric survivor, having first been diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager. During her journey to recovery, she coined the term “personal medicine” which she defines as “the things that give life meaning and make life worth living.”