title: What does recovery mean for me? Perspectives of Canadian mental health consumers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to explore the meaning of recovery from the perspectives of consumers receiving mental health services in Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty semi-structured interviews were conducted with 54 mental health consumers in Montreal, Québec City and Waterloo-Guelph, Ontario.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two contrasting meanings of recovery emerged. The first definition strongly attached recovery to illness while the second definition linked recovery to self-determination and taking responsibility for life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prominence of biomedical definitions of recovery suggests the need to find common ground between these two perspectives, if conceptualizations of recovery are to include the views of consumers who routinely experience the mental health system.
authors.affiliation: Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. myra.piat@douglas.mcgill.ca
authors.forename: Myra
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piat
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sabetti
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Couture
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sylvestre
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Provencher
authors.forename: Janos
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Botschner
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stayner
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D003256:Community Participation; D003289:Convalescence; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012649:Self Concept; D016896:Treatment Outcome