The British research evidence for recovery, papers published between 2006 and 2009 (inclusive). Part Two: a review of the grey literature including book chapters and policy documents

Abstract

This paper is the second in a series of two which reviews the current UK evidence base for recovery in mental health. As outlined in the previous paper, over the last 4 years a vast amount has written about recovery in mental health (approximately 60% of all articles). Whereas the first review focused on the peer-reviewed evidence; this paper specifically focuses on the grey/non-peer-reviewed literature. In total, our search strategy yielded the following: 3 books, a further 11 book chapters, 12 papers, 6 policy documents and 3 publications from voluntary sector organizations. Each group of publications was analysed for content, and they are discursively presented by publication group. The findings are then presented as themes in the discussion section. The themes are: social, historical and political critique; philosophy of hope for the individual; individual identity and narrative; models and guidance for mental health practice. We conclude that there is a need for both empirical research into recovery and a clearer theoretical exposition of the concept.