One of the reasons CMHAVB is so fond of the recovery process…

To all the folks who participated in the great #mhsm tweet chat last night, we’d like to add a bit more info about the recovery philosophy which influences all of the work we do here.

Given that there no one “right” definition of recovery in the mental health sense, one that always comes to mind - especially for its simplicity - is from a talk by Dr. Larry Davidson - “You can do it, we can help.”

Simple. Direct. Achievable. Empowering. Who wouldn’t want to embrace this?

 For a more in depth definition please check out this entry and, among others, the work of Bill Anthony and Pat Deegan, and Mary Ellen Copeland.
 
One such example of the recovery process in action is peer support. Peer support can be many things, but in its essence it is people with lived experience of mental illness modeling and helping others move along their own recovery path. I know, this sounds a bit flaky, but it is really a powerful process, and it works!
 
I’d like to pass this quote along shared by one of our colleagues:

 “Ideally, peer support is a gift that is happily accepted. It is an act of caring, trust and reciprocal empathy. When the connection succeeds, it provides emotional relief that one’s struggle against the world is not uniquely hopeless”

From the Article ‘Why Peer Support Is Like A Box of Chocolates’ by Raymond Cheng, Network Magazine Fall 2010