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Student: Ashley Price

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MFT5105 | Asha Sutton | | | Recovery-Oriented Care & Postmodern Family Therapy | Recovery Model in MFT |

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The definition of the recovery model is not clear in the mental health field. Professionals of the mental health field cannot agreed when it comes to the recovery method. Some professionals believe that the method doesn’t work because you can only judge recovery by quantitative measures. For example, an alcoholic would be considered in recovery if they didn’t have alcohol in a month. They also believe that if the person still had symptoms of the disorder then they are not in recovery. A formal definition has been brought forward by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The definition is “a journey of Healing and transformation enabling a person with a mental health problem to live a meaningful life in a community of his or her choice while striving to achieve his or her full potential” (Gehart, The Mental Health Revovery Movement and Family Therapy, Part I: Consumer-Led Reform of Services to Persons Diagnosed With Severe Mental Illness, 2012). The recovery model started in the 1930s but back in that time professionals didn’t consider it a serious method for treating patients. They didn’t start considering the method until the 1980s and after 20 years of research, professional mental health workers decided to explored the method (Gehart, The Mental Health Revovery Movement and Family Therapy, Part I: Consumer-Led Reform of Services to Persons Diagnosed With Severe Mental Illness, 2012). “Cross-national studies conducted by the World Health Organization produced surprising findings: 28% of persons diagnosed with severe mental illness reported full recovery (defined as no symptoms) and 52% reported social recovery (defined as needing medication or other services but able to maintain normal work, relationships, and a meaningful life)” (Gehart, The Mental Health Revovery Movement and Family Therapy, Part I: Consumer-Led Reform of Services to Persons Diagnosed With Severe Mental Illness, 2012). The results of this research caused professional mental health workers, in different countries, decided to rethink how they treat their clients. They decided to use the recovery model because it was cheap and effective and it worked well with severe and chronic mental illnesses (Gehart, The Mental Health Revovery Movement and Family Therapy, Part I: Consumer-Led Reform of Services to Persons Diagnosed With Severe Mental Illness, 2012). However, the United States wasn’t one of the countries to adopt the recovery model. The United States didn’t start using the recovery model until the year 2002 when the president passed a bill called the ‘President’s New Freedom Commission’. This basically said that the recovery model was a recommended source to use when treating patients. The current method did nothing but manage the symptoms of the disease but it didn’t make it go away (Gehart, The Mental Health Revovery Movement and Family Therapy, Part I: Consumer-Led Reform of Services to Persons Diagnosed With Severe Mental Illness, 2012). It was decided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that the recovery model was the best model because participates didn’t have to have all their symptoms go away in order to participate in community activities (Gehart, The Mental Health Revovery Movement and Family Therapy, Part I: Consumer-Led Reform of Services to Persons Diagnosed With Severe Mental Illness, 2012).
One major concept of the recovery model is that the client should be involved in the decision making process when it comes to their treatment options (National Association of Social Workers, 2006). People are often concern about this because of the fact that if a person needs to be on medication, they might decide to not take it. This gives the client some control when it comes to their treatment options. Usually the client goes with the therapist recommendation for the treatment administered but it’s still important to make them a part of the process (National Association of Social Workers, 2006). Another concept is that when the therapist sets rules, they need to stick by those rules and have appropriate consequences for not following them (National Association of Social Workers, 2006). The client should understand these rules and what happens if they don’t follow them. Clients are allowed to look for another therapist that have rules that better fits their need. Another concept of the recovery model is that clients should have the ability to make the same decisions that other people make every day (National Association of Social Workers, 2006). There are many theories in the family therapy but postmodernism and social constructionism are the ones that most resemble the recovery model. Both of theses models are focus on getting rid of the labels associated with the term ‘mental illnesses. People here this title and automatically assume the worst of people. By removing the labels that come along with the disease, you are making it so that people will have a better chance of recovering. Postmodernism, social constructionism and the recovery model all share the same assumptions when it comes to their theories. The first is that “A person’s experience of “mental illness,” including his or her sense o autonomy and personal identity, is informed by broader societal discourses, which must be questioned and reexamined in the process of recovery” (Gehart, The Mental Health Revovery Movement and Family Therapy, Part I: Consumer-Led Reform of Services to Persons Diagnosed With Severe Mental Illness, 2012). This means that how a person look at themselves and how they believe society looks at them is important when it comes to them recovering. The next assumption is, “”Recovery” involves developing identity narratives in which person’s diagnosed with a mental illness feel a sense of agency, hope, and possibility that enables them to create a life that is personally meaningful and fulfilling” (Gehart, The Mental Health Revovery Movement and Family Therapy, Part I: Consumer-Led Reform of Services to Persons Diagnosed With Severe Mental Illness, 2012). This means that by helping a person developed their sense of being, you are helping them recover. The next assumption is that the therapist needs to give the client a sense of purpose by giving them the resources they need to recover (Gehart, The Mental Health Revovery Movement and Family Therapy, Part I: Consumer-Led Reform of Services to Persons Diagnosed With Severe Mental Illness, 2012). The last assumption is that society can be a big help in recovering, therefore the therapist that is giving the client community resources they are helping them get back into the community (Gehart, The Mental Health Revovery Movement and Family Therapy, Part I: Consumer-Led Reform of Services to Persons Diagnosed With Severe Mental Illness, 2012).
When it comes to the recovery model and family therapy, the lines are a little blurred. Some professionals consider it a good idea, while others are the opposite. Some people think that the recovery method isn’t going to work because the client could be just projecting their feelings from the therapist and aren’t really recovered at all. Others believe that this therapy should be used and its best to give the client with a mental disorder instructions while other family members are present. This is because if one family forgets to do something then another family member steps in.
I believed that using the recovery model will help make me a better therapist because it not only treats the client but it also reminds you to treat them like a human being. Just because someone has a mental disorder doesn’t mean that they should be treated any different from someone with a mental disorder. Everyone has the right to have options and make their own decisions. Its fine for the therapist to guide them in that process but forcing them to make a decision that the therapist thinks is best is not the right way. This model reminds the therapist this and helps them to stick with it. Being an effective therapist would be easy when using this method because the client won’t feel like they are helpless. They would feel like they have a say in their treatment and that their disease isn’t controlling them but the other way around. Part of the process of recovery is helping the client to feel hope and in control and that’s what this method does.

References
Gehart, D. R. (2012). The Mental Health Recovery Movement and Family Therapy, Part II: A Collaborative, Appreciative Approach For Supporting Mental Health Recovery . Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 443-457.
Gehart, D. R. (2012). The Mental Health Revovery Movement and Family Therapy, Part I: Consumer-Led Reform of Services to Persons Diagnosed With Severe Mental Illness. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 429-442.
Jones, L. V., Hardiman, E. R., & Carpenter, J. (2008). Mental Health Recovery. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 251-269.
Lunt, A. (2004). The Implications For The Clinician of Adopting A Revovery Model: The Role of Choice In Assertive Treatment. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 93-97.
National Association of Social Workers. (2006, February). NASW Practice Snapshot: The Mental Health Recovery Model. Retrieved from NASW National Association of Social Workers: https://www.socialworkers.org/practice/behavioral_health/0206snapshot.asp?print=1&print=1&print=1&print=1&print=1&print=1&
Reisner, A. D. (2005). The Common Factors, Empirically Validated Treatments, and Recovery Models of Therapeutic Change. The Psychological Record, 377-399.