Background. The mental health literature attests to a paradigm shift from an emphasis on treatment towards a focus on fostering recovery. This paradigm emphasizes many constructs familiar to occupational therapists, including quality of life, empowerment, hope, meaningful activities and work. Occupational therapists are not only familiar with these terms, but have addressed recovery-related constructs in both research and practice. Method and Purpose. Literature on the recovery paradigm, mental health and occupational therapy was reviewed to gain an understanding of this paradigm and its relationship to occupational therapy in mental health. Result. Core occupational therapy beliefs and assumptions are strikingly similar to those purported to be important to fostering recovery. Implications. Occupational therapists should consider taking a keen interest in the construct of recovery. By virtue of professional beliefs and assumptions, occupational therapists are uniquely positioned to assume a leadership role in the area of recovery—related research and practice.
AnthonyW.A. (1991). Researching the unresearchable!Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 14 (3), 1.
2.
AnthonyW.A. (1993). Recovery from mental illness: The guiding vision of the mental health service system in the 1990s. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 16 (4), 11–23.
3.
AnthonyW.A. (1994). Managed care outcomes: Places to be and symptom free. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 19 (2), 73.
4.
AnthonyW.A. (2000). A recovery-oriented system: Setting some system level standards. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 24, 159–168.
5.
BullockW.A., EnsingD.S., AlloyV.E., & WeddleC.C. (2000). Leadership education: Evaluation of a program to promote recovery in persons with psychiatric disabilities. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 24, 3–12.
6.
BibykB., DayD.G., MorrisL., O'BrienM., RebeiroK.L., SeguinP., SemeniukB., WilsonB., & WilsonJ. (1999). Who's in charge here? The client's perspective on client-centred care. Occupational Therapy Now, Sept/Oct, 9–11.
7.
ByrneC.M., WoodsideH., LandeenJ., KirkpatrickH., BernardoA., & PawlickJ. (1994). The importance of relationships in fostering hope. Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 32 (9), 31–34.
8.
ChamberlainJ. (1984). Speaking for ourselves: An overview of the ex-psychiatric inmates'movement. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 2, 56–63.
9.
DavidsonL., & StraussJ.S. (1995). Beyond the biopsychosocial model: Integrating disorder, health, and recovery. Psychiatry, 58, 44–55.
10.
DavidsonL., HogeM.A., GodleskiL., RakfeldtJ., & GriffithE.E.H. (1996). Hospital or community living? Examining consumer perspectives on deinstitutionalization. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 19, 49–58.
11.
DavidsonL., StaynerD.A., NickouC., StyronT.H., RoweM., & ChinmanM.L. (2001). “Simply to be let in”: Inclusion as a basis for recovery. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 24 (4), 375–388.
12.
DeeganP.E. (1988). Recovery: The lived experience of rehabilitation. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 11 (4), 11–19.
13.
DeeganP.E. (1993). Recovering our sense of value after being labelled mentally ill. Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 31 (4), 7–11.
14.
DeeganP.E. (2001). Recovery as a self-directed process of healing and transformation. Retrieved August 28, 2003 from www.mhrecovery.com/articles.htm.
15.
FisherD.B. (1994). Health care reform based on an empowerment model of recovery by people with psychiatric disabilities. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 45, 913–15.
16.
GageM., NohS., PolatajkoH., KasparV. (1994). Measuring perceived self-efficacy in occupational therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 48, 783–790.
17.
GoffmanE. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
18.
GrahamC., CoombsT., BuckinghamB., EagerK., TrauerT., & CallalyT. (2001). The Victorian mental health outcomes measurement strategy: Consumer perspectives on future directions for outcome self-assessment. Report of the consumer consultation project. Department of Human Services, Victoria.
19.
HardingC.M., BrooksG.W., AshikagaT., StraussJ.S., & BreierA. (1987a). The Vermont longitudinal study of persons with severe mental illness, I: Methodology, study sample, and overall status 32 years later. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144: 718–26.
20.
HardingC.M., BrooksG.W., AshikagaT., StraussJ.S., & BreierA. (1987b). The Vermont longitudinal study of persons with severe mental illness, II: Long-term outcome of subjects who retrospectively met DSM-III criteria for schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144 (6), 727–35.
21.
HardingC.M., ZubinJ., & StraussJ.S. (1987). Chronicity in schizophrenia: Fact, partial fact or artifact?Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 38, 477–486.
22.
HardingC.M., ZubinJ., & StraussJ.S. (1992). Chronicity in schizophrenia: Revisited. British Journal of Psychiatry, 161 (suppl. 18), 27–37.
23.
JacobsonN., & GreenleyD. (2001). What is recovery? A conceptual model and explication. Psychiatric Services, 52 (4), 482–485.
24.
KirkpatrickH., LandeenJ., WoodsideH., & ByrneC. (2001). How people with schizophrenia build their hope. Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 39 (1), 46–53.
25.
KirshB. (1996). A narrative approach to addressing spirituality in OT: Exploring personal meaning and purpose. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63, 55–61.
26.
KirshB. (2000). Factors associated with employment for mental health consumers. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 24, 13–21.
27.
KrupaT., & ClarkC. (2004). Occupational therapy in the field of mental health: Promoting occupational perspectives on health and well-being. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71, 69–74.
28.
LawM. (1991). The environment: A focus for occupational therapy. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 58, 171–79.
29.
LeeteE. (1989). How I perceive and manage my illness. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 15, 197–200.
30.
PolatajkoH. (1992). Naming and framing occupational therapy: A lecture dedicated to the life of Nancy B. Canadian Journal of Occupational therapy, 59, 189–200.
31.
RebeiroK.L. (1999). The labyrinth of community mental health: In search for meaningful occupation. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 23 (2), 143–152.
32.
RebeiroK.L. (2000). Client perspectives on occupational therapy practice: Are we truly client-centred?Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 67, 7–14.
33.
RebeiroK.L. (2001). Enabling occupation: The importance of an affirming environment. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68, 80–89.
34.
RebeiroK.L. & AllenJ. (1998). Voluntarism as occupation. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 65, 279–285.
35.
RebeiroK.L. & CookJ.V. (1999). Opportunity, not prescription: An exploratory study of the experience of occupational engagement. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 66, 176–187.
36.
RebeiroK.L., DayD.G., SemeniukB., O'BrienM.C., & WilsonB. (2001). NISA: An occupation-based, mental health program. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 55, 493–500.
37.
RenwickR., & BrownI. (1996). The centre for health promotion's conceptual approach to quality of life. In RenwickR., BrownI., & NagerM. (Eds.), Quality of life in health promotion and rehabilitation: Conceptual approaches, issues and applications (pp. 75–86). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
38.
StrongS., & RebeiroK.L. (2003). Creating supportive work environments for people with mental illness. In LettsL., RigbyP., & StewartD. (Eds.), Using environments to enable occupational performance (pp. 137–154). Thorofare, NJ: Slack.
39.
ThibeaultR. (1997). A funeral for my father's mind: A therapist's attempt at grieving. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 64, 107–114.
40.
TownsendE. (1998). Good intentions overruled: A critique of empowerment in the routine organization of mental health services. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
41.
Turner-CrowsonJ., & WallcraftJ. (2002). The recovery vision for mental health services and research: A British perspective. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 25, 245–254.
42.
WilcockA. (1993). A theory of the human need for occupation. Journal of Occupational Science, 1 (1), 17–24.
43.
WilcockA. (1998). An occupational perspective of health. Thorofare, NJ: Slack.
