Since being identified as the single most important aim of mental health services by both the
1999 Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health and the 2003 President’s New Freedom Commission, the notion of
recovery has rapidly and broadly permeated the American mental health system. But what, then, is “recovery” in
relation to mental illness? And what implications does this concept have for transforming mental health practice to become
“recovery-oriented”?
To begin answering these
questions, and to promote the transformation of mental health care to a recovery-orientation, on October 1, 2009, the Center
for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Office of the Associate Director for Consumer Affairs, within the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), contracted with Development Services Group, Inc. (DSG) to launch a 5-year Recovery
to Practice (RTP) initiative. Within SAMHSA’s workforce development priority area, this initiative seeks to advance
a recovery-oriented approach to mental health care by developing, promoting, and disseminating training curricula on how to
translate the concept of mental health recovery into practice; and by providing a Recovery to Practice Recovery Resource Center
for mental health professionals engaged in this work. The Recovery to Practice initiative is the most recent of the Federal
Government’s efforts to promote recovery for all Americans affected by mental illness.
Professional Recovery-Oriented Practice Training Materials
As part of the RTP project, SAMHSA approved awards to five national behavioral healthcare provider associations to hasten
awareness, acceptance, and adoption of recovery-based practices in the delivery of mental health services. The following national
mental health professional organizations will receive funding for the next 5 years to develop recovery-oriented educational
materials and train thousands of psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, social workers, and mental health peer
specialists:
With recovery-oriented training materials,
mental health professionals will be able to embrace and practice recovery-oriented approaches while enhancing their core personal
and professional values. In addition, they will learn new ways of working collaboratively across professions to more effectively
support individuals with mental illnesses in entering into and pursuing recovery. This collaboration will be based on the
expectation that each profession has a unique role to play; coming from different traditions and facing different challenges,
but joining in a collective effort to learn about and adopt new and innovative practices that build on their respective histories
and strengths.
To offer the best products possible—products
that express the richness of recovery—DSG has assembled an impressive team, including consumers with lived experience,
the Annapolis Coalition, Mental Health America (MHA), the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), National Development
and Research Institutes, Inc. (NDRI), and the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS). DSG also
has assembled more than 40 consultants and a highly diverse steering committee to guide the project.
To stay
informed of all the RTP Resource Center’s many activities and events, join the ListServ by writing to recoverytopractice@dsgonline.com or calling 1.877.584.8535.
New resources are being added to the Resource Center on an ongoing basis. Contributors are invited to submit suggestions
for useful articles, videos, curricula, and personal stories—as well as announcements about upcoming relevant conferences
and meetings—to keep the center robust and current. In addition, the Resource Center will disseminate a quarterly E-newsletter
and other announcements.
