What is Recovery?

What is Recovery?

WHAT IS RECOVERY?


The Government report that 20% of the population of the UK has a significant mental health problem that any one time. A conservative estimate. In areas of social disadvantage this could be as high as 50% of the population. Prescriptions for psychotropic medicines account for a quarter of the NHS drugs budget.

On Wirral this means that between 30,000 and 50,000 people have significant mental health needs. There is no way that the mental health services, as they are currently configured, could begin to cope with these numbers. It would be impossible for the government to fund appropriate numbers of services and workers from taxation. The only viable alternative is a change of culture - a change in the way we as citizens respond to each other's mental health needs and how the community provides better opportunities for recovery and inclusion.

Most believe that this culture change will only take hold when users become leaders and are seen to be experts by their own experience, with power and influence in the process. Statutory agencies and service user groups have talked about ‘user’ participation, involvement, and empowerment for years. And there have been improvements and developments, thanks to the efforts and energies of a small group of experts by experience. Recovery could well bring things together and drive things forward in a way that we could only have dreamed about just a few years ago.

So everyone seems to want the same thing - a vibrant, responsive, positive, involving, preventative mental health culture and ‘services’ based on the real needs of the people. A mental health culture that is hopeful in all its parts and works from positive principles.

Recovery may have a major impact in this process.

To begin with Recovery is a set of ideas and practices that has grown from and is now owned by peoople who use service and survivors – experts by experience. One such champion of Recovery is an American woman, Mary Ellen Copeland. Mary Ellen was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a serious mental health condition. She reports that she asked her psychiatrist for information about how others with this condition coped. She was dismayed that neither he nor any members of the professional team were able to point her in the direction of such information. Lots of information about medicines, health and safety but not how real people cope and take control of their lives. She advertised for service users to send her ideas from their own experience of maintaining and improving their quality of life. She was overwhelmed by the response. She collected this information and has now written a number of books about Recovery, using this material, directly gained from experts by experience themselves. Many of her ideas can be seen on mentalhealthrecovery.com. These ideas are now being picked up by people experiencing mental health problems around the globe.

Recovery has two strands. One is the work that individuals can choose do for themselves to take charge of their lives. This enables people to manage their own needs (become self agents) and maintain their wellness. This usually involves using Wellness Recovery Action Plans, a self management tool that many find powerful and positive. Many have found that this has greatly increased their opportunities, got them in touch with other people working towards their own recovery goals and has increased their confidence and hope. Many have found that they have grown as people, well past the point that they previously considered their goal of "getting back to normal".

The second strand is the growth of recovery opportunities in the community and changes in the delivery of services. Service users have found that self-help groups, peer counselling, and involvement in awareness and anti-stigma campaigns have been enormously beneficial.

Statutory and voluntary agencies are already involved in Recovery, because it can produce positive changes for professional staff as well, not only in their work but in their personal lives. Paid professional people need to feel hopeful too!

Recovery is beginning to grow on Wirral. There is a Recovery Steering Group, which meets regularly and consists of experts by experience, carers and professionals of all sorts. There is a programme of Wellness Recovery Action Planning and plans to run workshops on Wellness Tools. Many statutory agencies like Wirral Social Services and the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership Trust are helping to promote Recovery. More and more people are using WRAP to help themselves and each other.

Recovery works when experts by experience and people who use mental health services are in the driving seat. With hopefulness anything is possible.

BobK 2007