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Recovery is cited, within Transforming Mental Health Care in America,
Federal Action Agenda: First Steps, as the "single most important
goal" for the mental health service delivery system.
To clearly define recovery, the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration within the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services and the Interagency Committee on Disability
Research in partnership with six other Federal agencies convened
the National Consensus Conference on Mental Health Recovery and
Mental Health Systems Transformation on December 16-17, 2004.
Over 110 expert panelists participated, including
mental health consumers, family members, providers, advocates, researchers,
academicians, managed care representatives, accreditation organization
representatives, State and local public officials, and others. A
series of technical papers and reports were commissioned that examined
topics such as recovery across the lifespan, definitions of recovery,
recovery in cultural contexts, the intersection of mental health
and addictions recovery, and the application of recovery at individual,
family, community, provider, organizational, and systems levels.
The following consensus statement was derived from expert panelist
deliberations on the findings.
Mental health recovery is a journey
of healing and transformation enabling a person with a mental health
problem to live a meaningful life in a community of his or her choice
while striving to achieve his or her full potential.
The 10 Fundamental Components of Recovery
- Self-Direction: Consumers
lead, control, exercise choice over, and determine their own path
of recovery by optimizing autonomy, independence, and control
of resources to achieve a self-determined life. By definition,
the recovery process must be self-directed by the individual,
who defines his or her own life goals and designs a unique path
towards those goals.
Individualized and Person-Centered: There are multiple pathways
to recovery based on an individual’s unique strengths and
resiliencies as well as his or her needs, preferences, experiences
(including past trauma), and cultural background in all of its
diverse representations. Individuals also identify recovery as
being an ongoing journey and an end result as well as an overall
paradigm for achieving wellness and optimal mental health.
- Empowerment: Consumers have
the authority to choose from a range of options and to participate
in all decisions—including the allocation of resources—that
will affect their lives, and are educated and supported in so
doing. They have the ability to join with other consumers to collectively
and effectively speak for themselves about their needs, wants,
desires, and aspirations. Through empowerment, an individual gains
control of his or her own destiny and influences the organizational
and societal structures in his or her life.
- Holistic: Recovery encompasses
an individual’s whole life, including mind, body, spirit,
and community. Recovery embraces all aspects of life, including
housing, employment, education, mental health and healthcare treatment
and services, complementary and naturalistic services, addictions
treatment, spirituality, creativity, social networks, community
participation, and family supports as determined by the person.
Families, providers, organizations, systems, communities, and
society play crucial roles in creating and maintaining meaningful
opportunities for consumer access to these supports.
- Non-Linear: Recovery is not
a step-bystep process but one based on continual growth, occasional
setbacks, and learning from experience. Recovery begins with an
initial stage of awareness in which a person recognizes that positive
change is possible. This awareness enables the consumer to move
on to fully engage in the work of recovery.
- Strengths-Based: Recovery
focuses on valuing and building on the multiple capacities, resiliencies,
talents, coping abilities, and inherent worth of individuals.
By building on these strengths, consumers leave stymied life roles
behind and engage in new life roles (e.g., partner, caregiver,
friend, student, employee). Th e process of recovery moves forward
through interaction with others in supportive, trust-based relationships.
- Peer Support: Mutual support—including
the sharing of experiential knowledge and skills and social learning—plays
an invaluable role in recovery. Consumers encourage and engage
other consumers in recovery and provide each other with a sense
of belonging, supportive relationships, valued roles, and community.
- Respect: Community, systems,
and societal acceptance and appreciation of consumers —including
protecting their rights and eliminating discrimination and stigma—are
crucial in achieving recovery. Self-acceptance and regaining belief
in one’s self are particularly vital. Respect ensures the
inclusion and full participation of consumers in all aspects of
their lives.
Responsibility: Consumers have a personal responsibility for their
own self-care and journeys of recovery. Taking steps towards their
goals may require great courage. Consumers must strive to understand
and give meaning to their experiences and identify coping strategies
and healing processes to promote their own wellness.
- Hope: Recovery provides the
essential and motivating message of a better future— that
people can and do overcome the barriers and obstacles that confront
them. Hope is internalized; but can be fostered by peers, families,
friends, providers, and others. Hope is the catalyst of the recovery
process. Mental health recovery not only benefi ts individuals
with mental health disabilities by focusing on their abilities
to live, work, learn, and fully participate in our society, but
also enriches the texture of American community life. America
reaps the benefi ts of the contributions individuals with mental
disabilities can make, ultimately becoming a stronger and healthier
Nation.
For additional information please visit
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Mental Health
Services at www.samhsa.gov.
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