Recovery

At Nottinghamshire Healthcare we want to help people do the things they want to do, live the lives they want to live and access the opportunities that everyone should take for granted.

One way we try to achieve this is by putting personal recovery at the heart of everything we do – and by sharing this philosophy with our partner organisations.

Our purpose is to create a culture and context in which people can recover: to provide interventions that enable people to take back control of their lives, and to believe in the potential of everyone we work with so that they too can feel hopeful about their futures. We give access to opportunities so that people really can live the lives they want to lead.
 

What is Recovery?

Recovery has been defined as:

“…. A deeply personal, unique process of changing one's attitudes, values, feelings, goals skills, and/or roles.  It is a way of living a satisfying, hopeful and contributing life even with the limitations caused by illness.  Recovery involves the development of new meaning and purpose in one's life as one grows beyond the catastrophic effects of mental illness.”  (Anthony, 1993).

There is no set model of recovery and it is better to speak about recovery ideas or concepts.

• Recovery is about individualised approaches and as the definition suggests, it is about having a satisfying and fulfilling life, as defined by each person.
• Recovery does not necessarily mean ‘clinical recovery' (usually defined in terms of symptoms and cure) – it does mean ‘social recovery', building a life beyond illness without necessarily achieving the elimination of the symptoms of illness.
• Recovery is often a journey, with its inevitable ups and downs, and people often describe themselves as being in recovery rather than recovered.

Recovery can be seen as a process and can be most helpfully defined by three core concepts: hope, control and opportunity.

• Hope is a central part of recovery. It is essential to give people motivation and the belief that things can get better.
• Control refers to people taking control over their own challenges, the services they receive and their lives. It is about self-management, self-determination, choice and responsibility.
• Opportunity links recovery with social inclusion and people's participation in a wider society. People with mental and physical health problems wish to be part of communities, to be a valued member of and contribute to those communities, and have access to the same opportunities as everyone else.

 

Find out more

• View the Trustwide Recovery Strategy 2016-2021
• Find out about Nottingham Recovery College