Mental Health Recovery Model

What is Mental Health Recovery

Hope is possible. Mental health recovery model is one framework that can be integrated into your life.

I support healing through the lens of hope and mental health recovery. I deeply believe in my bones that
mental health recovery is possible for everyone who lives with a mental illness.

And I’m talking about the hard stuff.

Because it may be psychosis you’ve experienced. Or the depression has walked alongside you for too
many years. Or anxiety feels like it’s too intertwined with your body. Or intense emotions have created
havoc in your life. Even when it feels like recovery isn’t possible for your future, the truth is this: it is.

Here’s the thing I’ve learned over my years of witnessing folks who have gone through extreme difficulty
with their mental health. That recovery and healing are possible. I believe it because I’ve seen it. Again
and again. With folks who’ve felt that everyone’s given up on them. The things is, human beings are
incredibly resilient. We are designed to heal and recover. Mental health recovery is possible for
everyone, even though recovery isn’t a cure. Or a return to yourself prior to a relationship with mental
illness. The key to recovery seems to be hope and eliciting hope.

What is the Recovery Model?

If you’re new to the recovery model lens, it’s okay. In essence, the recovery model is the opposite of a
person being a collection of symptoms and problems. The recovery model doesn’t center an illness.
Where an illness is at the heart and You are shaped around it. The essence of the recovery model is that
you are more than your symptoms. More than depression. Or anxiety. Or panic attacks. Or PTSD. Or
psychosis. Or borderline personality symptoms. Or ADHD. More than whatever the diagnosis is that
you’re in relationship with.

What invited me so deeply into the recovery model is that it was developed in community. It’s a truly
grassroots way of looking at mental illness. It didn’t emerge in universities. Or the office of psychiatrists
and psychologists. It emerged directly from the folks who are experiencing mental illness; from those
using the services in the 70s.

It counters the medical model where mental health is seen as an illness located within the body.
Something that can’t be recovered from or healed. And research supports it. That’s why it’s been
adopted into so many mental health programs across Canada (see the link below).

The actual fact is this: most people who experience mental illness, even the more medicalized experiences, recover.

Wait…there’s hope with mental illness?

Yes! At the heart of the recovery model is hope. Maybe not being cured (as in a magic pill that takes
away all symptoms, no more episodes ever again). But as in living a hopeful, meaningful and fulfilling life
even if you have a relationship with a diagnosis. A life where you can be a part of community and have
meaningful relationships. A life of dreams for yourself. Where you get to have aspirations and achieve
them. A life where you live your fullest expression of yourself. To feel the sweetness of relief in your
nervous system. To work, volunteer, travel, raise children. Or just feel good chillin’. To deeply breathe in
life. All of this is not only possible…it’s a reachable reality for many people. That’s why the recovery
model was so advocated for decades ago by those using mental health services. It’s built on the premise of healing.

I’ve personally witnessed many folks and families recover even from the most devasting diagnosis:
psychosis, schizophrenia, deep depression, ongoing PTSD. People can, and do, learn to manage
symptoms and stressors and feel alive again.

Reflective questions in recovery:

Below I offer some reflective questions in the spirit of aliveness, recovery and hope. May they assist you
in your recovery journey. Perhaps reflect, ponder, write and revisit. May they inspire your quest for
recovery.

• What are my hopes and dreams for myself?
• What makes me feel alive?
• Where do I need to pull back in my life?
• Where am I pushing myself too much?
• What creates too much stress in my body?
• What does honouring myself and my needs feel like in my body?
• What are my aspirations in life?
• What are some small steps to move towards achieving them?
• Where can I connect in community?
• Are there any hands on my back who are my supports? How can I lean into these relationships more?

One Final Thought….

A key part of recovery is acceptance. Acceptance isn’t passive. Embodied acceptance is an active
process. It doesn’t equate to losing hope. And even if you do lose hope or give up for a little while, that’s
okay. Sometimes the deepest growth happens when we give up on something. For me, acceptance has
felt a bit more like “okay, this is a reality in my life, I won’t deny it. And it doesn’t have to define me. I
can face this head on, figure it out and still move forward with my life”. It’s been a felt sense of “okay,
this is real for me. How do I integrate this experience into my life and still live my best life”.

The recovery model is integral to this belief. As a therapist, and a survivor of mental illness, I help hold
hope for you until you can hold it more for yourself.

Links:

Recovery Model of Mental Illness: A Complementary Approach to Psychiatric Care – PMC (nih.gov)

Recovery – Mental Health Commission of Canada

What’s the Recovery Model in Mental Health? | Medical Information, Reviewed by Experts (manual.co)