The document discusses the concept of recovery in mental health. It defines recovery as reintegrating lost aspects of self that were fragmented due to traumatic experiences. This involves recovering a meaningful life, sense of self, and ability to participate in the community. The recovery model emphasizes an individual's ability to heal themselves, in contrast to traditional medical models that focus on symptom management. The recovery process involves transitioning from a state of despair to discovering hope and ultimately regaining meaning through self-knowledge, choice, support systems, and engagement in work and community.

1. A Recovery Model
Richard Evans-Lacey
Psychotherapist
15/02/2013 © Richard Evans-Lacey www.psychicplumbing.com 1

2. What is recovery?
• Regaining possession or use or control
of, reclaiming
• Returning to health or consciousness or to a
normal state or position
Source: The Concise Oxford Dictionary
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3. What is recovery in the context of
mental health?
• Is the outcome that the person ‘gets better’ and
recovers a normal level of mental health?
• By ‘normal’ do we actually mean ‘average’?
• How do they know when they have succeeded?
– Meaningful life
– Sense of self
– Active participation within the community
• Recovery implies it is getting something back
• What if they don’t remember ever having these
things?
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4. A new definition of recovery
• Recovery is the process of re-integrating lost aspects of self
• These aspects of self can be lost in space (e.g. dissociation)
and time (e.g. repressed memories)
• Traumatic root causes of fragmentation can be pre-birth in
ancestral patterns and / or past lives
• Anything less than enlightenment is not normal (only
average levels of suffering)
• Anyone who has an interest in personal development is in
recovery
• The goal is not enlightenment at some future date
• The goal is to be responsible for own recovery … right now
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5. What do other people say about recovery?
• Implies that the person once had what is being recovered
• The process of recovering a meaningful life, sense of self and active
participation within the community.
• Not the outcome of being „normal‟ or „healthy‟
– As compared with average levels of discord and suffering in the
general population
• Guiding principles which emphasise and support the individual‟s
ability to heal themselves
• Scientific studies show this approach to be „unexpectedly‟ effective
– WHO study: Complete „recovery‟ 20 – 25%; Social recovery 40 – 45%
• Popular with consumers / survivors
• Taken on by the health services of many countries
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6. Why is the Recovery Model important?
• Gives us a common language
• Sets our work into a context
• Provokes discussion
• Acts as a reminder
• Integrates us with the wider mental health
environment
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7. Structure of the Recovery Model
Consumer / Participant:
•Why I live
•Who I am
•What I do
Undesirable Desirable
Process of transition
state process
Significant others:
•Who they are
•What they do
Environment: Where this happens
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8. The Recovery Model
Lost in Despair Discovering Hope Recovering Meaning
I am getting to
I am ill
know myself
I am doing
I do what I am
what is best for
told
me
Feedback
Action
Take
Give
Professionals Supporters Peers
responsible for empowering be-friending
Controlled Environment Safe Environment Open Environment
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9. The undesirable state
Lost in Despair
• What‟s the point of living?
• „Patient‟ identifies self with
symptoms
• Behaviour is controlled by „illness‟ (I
I am an ill can‟t help it) or by professionals (e.g.
patient HO Section)
• Professionals follow the rules
I do what I – Medical model: Patient has an illness /
have to disorder due to chemical imbalance (not
their „fault‟)
– Scientifically proven medication is
prescribed to make the patient „better‟
(i.e. control symptoms)
Professionals • Patient is often isolated in an
Caring institution
Controlled Environment© Richard Evans-Lacey www.psychicplumbing.com
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10. The desirable process
Recovering Meaning • Life is not always sunny
• I am:
– On a journey of discovery
– Always more than I think I am
• I should do what I want and want to do what
I am getting to I should
know myself – Aware of own patterns and „warning signals‟
I am choosing – Positive focus with support systems and
pragmatic relapse management procedures
what I am in place
doing – Engaged in meaningful work
• Networking with other „survivors‟
Take
Give
– Calling on the services of professionals and
giving informed consent to treatment
(perhaps including medication)
Peers • Integrated into the wider community
Be-friending
Open Environment
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11. The process of transition
Discovering Hope • Hope may come through in glimmers and needs
to be nurtured
• Courage gives you „wings‟ to:
– Acknowledge and safely express Anger
– Cry sadness and grief (including for loss of own life)
– Face fears, especially death, and take leaps of faith
– Feel guilty, learn from it and ask for forgiveness
• Taking responsibility requires the development of
the ability to choose how to respond to internal
and external triggers
– Consumer / Participant becomes expert in own
symptoms and develops coping strategies
– Role for simple NLP / CBT / EFT tools and
Feedback
techniques
Action
– Nutrition, exercise and social activity as important
as medication
– “I can …”
Supporters
Empowering
Safe Environment Richard Evans-Lacey www.psychicplumbing.com
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12. The process of transition
Discovering Hope
• Supporters include
professionals, family, friends, colleag
ues, „survivors‟ and the community
• Supporters should be congruent
– Believe in the possibility of change
– Show it through consistent, straight
forward, respectful, honest, positive
behaviour
• Empowering means:
– Providing opportunity
–
Feedback
Providing information
Action
– Providing encouragement
– Providing coaching
Supporters – Supporting does not mean carrying
Empowering
Safe Environment Richard Evans-Lacey www.psychicplumbing.com
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13. The process of transition
Discovering Hope
• Consumers / participants begin to connect
with others in a meaningful way
• Consumers / participants make decisions and
commitments
– Agreed behavioural norms
– Outcomes and the plans to achieve them
– „Success‟ is celebrated
– „Failure‟ is feedback – very important that
consumers / participants live with and learn
from the consequences of their actions
• Environment is clean, tidy, respectful and
Feedback
Action
relatively predictable
– Free from overt and covert violence or
intimidation
Supporters – Not cosseted
Empowering
Safe Environment Richard Evans-Lacey www.psychicplumbing.com
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14. References
• JACOBSON AND GREENLEY, (2001) What Is
Recovery? A Conceptual Model and
Explication. Psychiatric Services 52 482-
485, April 2001, American Psychiatric
Association
• Recovery Model. In: Wikipedia [WWW]
Available from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recovery_model
[accessed 7/8/2008]
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