The mental health recovery movement and family therapy, part I: consumer-led reform of services to persons diagnosed with severe mental illness.
In 2004, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a consensus statement on mental health recovery based on the New Freedom Commission's recommendation that public mental health organizations adopt a "recovery" approach to severe and persistent mental illness, including services to those dually diagnosed with mental health and substance abuse issues. By formally adopting and promoting a recovery orientation to severe mental illness, the United States followed suit with other first-world nations that have also adopted this approach based on two decades of research by the World Health Organization. This movement represents a significant paradigm shift in the treatment of severe mental health, a shift that is more closely aligned with the nonpathologizing and strength-based traditions in marriage and family therapy. Furthermore, the recovery movement is the first consumer-led movement to have a transformational effect on professional practice, thus a watershed moment for the field. Part I of this article introduces family therapists to the concept of mental health recovery, providing an overview of its history, key concepts, and practice implications. Part II of this article outlines a collaborative, appreciative approach for working in recovery-oriented contexts.
Marriage and Family Therapy Program, California State University, 18111 Nordhoff, Northridge, California 91330, USA. dgehart@csun.edu
Diane R
DR
Gehart
D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D008388:Marital Therapy / Q000458:organization & administration*; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008603:Mental Health; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D016730:Program Development; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D014481:United States; D014482:United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration / Q000458:organization & administration; D014944:World Health Organization