Abstract
Recovery-oriented care has become a leading vision across countries. To develop services and communities in more recovery-oriented directions, enhanced understandings of recovery in terms of personal and social contexts are important prerequisites. The aim of this study is to explore the nature and characteristics of the experiences of recovery. The method used is a form of qualitative meta-synthesis that integrates the findings from multiple qualitative studies published by one research group. Twenty-eight empirical papers with a focus on recovery as personal and contextual experiences were included in this meta-synthesis. Five meta-themes were developed: (a) being normal, (b) respecting and accepting oneself, (c) being in control, (d) recovery as intentional, and (e) recovery as material and social. The themes describe how recovery encompasses dynamics between personal experiences and contextual dimensions. This meta-synthesis consolidated an understanding of recovery as dynamics of the self and others, and as dynamics of the self and material resources. This understanding of recovery suggests the need to work not only with the person, but also with families, networks, social systems, and local communities, thus developing mental health and substance abuse services in more collaborative, open-ended, and context-sensitive directions.
Highlights
Accepted: 6 July 2021Within the transformation of mental health and addiction services towards more care provision in the community, recovery-oriented care has become a leading vision across countries [1,2]
The qualitative meta-synthesis in this study is in line with the first kind of synthesis identified by Sandelowski, Docherty, and Emden, which referred to integrating the findings from multiple qualitative studies within a program of research by the same investigators [24]. The purpose of this approach in the present study is to explore how recovery is described in empirical research at the Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse (CMHSA), addressing the research question of “How is recovery described in empirical research at the CMHSA
If we generally accept the idea that experiences of recovery are universal human experiences in the context of mental health and/or substance abuse problems, the findings enrich our understanding of the phenomenon of recovery. The results of this meta-synthesis provide a consolidated picture of the core features of experiences of recovery as the dynamics of the self and others and the dynamics of the self and material resources
Summary
Within the transformation of mental health and addiction services towards more care provision in the community, recovery-oriented care has become a leading vision across countries [1,2]. This shift has led to a demand for more multifaceted knowledge of how living and dealing with mental health and/or substance abuse issues can be experienced and what truly helpful support may involve. Tuffour distinguishes between clinically oriented and consumer-oriented definitions of recovery [3] The former is described as considering recovery from a disease perspective, originating from the historical context of clinical research. Clinical recovery is understood as best determined by professional experts, and commonly involves using standard assessment tools [6]
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