Autovideography: The Lived Experience of Recovery for Adults with Serious Mental Illness.
Mental health services have been transforming toward a recovery orientation for more than a decade, yet a robust understanding of recovery eludes many providers, and consensus on a conceptual definition has yet to be reached. This article examines mental health consumers' lived experience of recovery and evaluates the usefulness and comprehensiveness of CHIME, a major framework conceptually defining recovery for adults with serious mental illness. Researchers partnered with a mental health association in a major US city to engage in research with graduates of a recovery and education class for adults diagnosed with serious mental illness. Twelve participants were loaned video cameras and invited to "Tell us about your recovery" through autovideography. Of the 12 participants, six produced videos directly responding to the overall research question and were subsequently included in the present analysis. Data were analyzed thematically, and CHIME adequately represented the major domains presented in consumer videos with two notable modifications: subdomains of "reciprocity" within relationships and "contributing to others" were added to comprehensively represent consumer perspectives about recovery. Adding two subdomains to CHIME more effectively represents consumer narratives about recovery, contributes to the social construction of the personhood of people with serious mental illness, and offers a more robust description of the process of recovery.
University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, 3815 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. petrosr@sp2.upenn.edu.
Ryan
R
Petros
University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, 3701 Locust Walk, Caster Building, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
Phyllis
P
Solomon
Rutgers School of Nursing, Camden, 215 North 3rd Street, Camden, NJ, 08102, USA.
Sheila
S
Linz
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, 418 Curie Blvd, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
Marissa
M
DeCesaris
School of Nursing, Northeastern University and Bouve' College of Health Sciences, 102 Robinson Hall, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Nancy P
NP
Hanrahan
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008875:Middle Aged; D033262:Narration; D036301:Qualitative Research; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012944:Social Support; D014741:Video Recording
Autovideography; Mental health; Mental illness; Reciprocity; Recovery