[NYAPRS Enews] RTP: Importance of Goals in Facilitating the Recovery Process

[Harvey Rosenthal]

July 23, 2010
Issue No. 12

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visit:

 <http://www.dsgonline.com/rtp/resources.html>
http://www.dsgonline.com/rtp/resources.html  

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   The Importance of Goals in Facilitating the Recovery Process

by Glenn Hopkins

 

Promoting hope, providing tools, and removing barriers are the shared
responsibilities of people recovering from mental illness and the
persons (providers, friends, and family members) providing them the
formal and informal support in that process. As a person recovering from
serious mental illness, and as director of The Main Place-a
consumer-operated mental health recovery center serving more than 800
consumers annually-my experience has been that promoting hope is first
and foremost. 

 

Traditionally, providers serving adults experiencing serious mental
illness have worked from illness and rehabilitation models that focus
primarily on skill building and symptom reduction. Those of us who have
experienced serious mental illness know, however, that when we became
ill, we lost our self-esteem and self-identity. So while illness
management and skill building may be a part of the recovery process, the
greater challenge in promoting hope is how to build (or rebuild)
courage, character, independence, and initiative. This process is
enhanced not so much by establishing goals, but by providing the
consumer with knowledge and an experience that can help the individual
to internalize a structure to support and facilitate their recovery.  

 

Results of recent participatory action research (PAR) at The Main
Place-The Road to Recovery: An Examination Into the Goals and Activities
of Consumers at the Main Place (Voelkle, 2010)-suggest the development
of goals may not be as important to the recovery process as the
internalization of a vision for one's recovery that is then supported by
the actions one takes. Another piece of research, The Main Place: A
Culture of Peer Recovery (Huttie et al., 2009), explores and supports
the use of recognition and reward toward developing a sense of belonging
and empowerment essential to recover. Goal setting may be part of a
consumer's recovery process, but establishing a specific goal and
revisiting that goal are usually less important to how one actually
recovers.  

 

One process for facilitating recovery-Emerging Best Practices in Mental
Health Recovery (EBPMHR)-was developed by consumers, family members, and
providers in Ohio in the middle 1990s and has been the programmatic
center of how The Main Place helps our members with their recovery
process. Key steps in that process include

 

1.      Making consumers aware that they have choices. Oftentimes, the
system and providers are heavily focused on "safety net" services, such
as stabilizing consumers' living environment and linking them to
resources they may be eligible for, or projecting one value system on
them. But developing a relationship with consumers and listening to
them, and assisting them in becoming aware of the choices they have is
crucial. (What choices they actually have are not that important at this
stage in the recovery process-it is enough that they become aware of,
and do have, an array of informed choices.) 

 2.      Encouraging the consumer to make choices. Again, the choices we
make are not as important as the act of making the choice itself. 

3.      Supporting their choices. This involves assisting consumers in
developing an action plan to achieve the goals they've set. This step,
by the way, should include helping them build a circle of support.

 (Note: These steps have been largely paraphrased for the purposes of
this consumer's perspective.)  

 

Ultimately, three things have become apparent in my, and The Main
Place's, experiences with recovery. First is that while goals are
important, it is much more important to develop a sense of belonging and
social connectedness (i.e., a circle of support) and empowerment (the
belief that we have choices, the willingness to make choices, and
actually taking actions that result in a more satisfying life). Second,
emphasis needs to be placed on enrichment: expanding the knowledge and
experiences that inform our choices. Third, the process of facilitating
recovery should be provided in a way that helps the consumer establish
and internalize a structure for, and commitment to, their own recovery.

As a peer and role model for recovery, I have been fortunate in being
able to help others at The Main Place navigate these critical steps in
overcoming mental illness and living the full, rich life we all deserve.

 

Glenn Hopkins is the Executive Director of the consumer-operated service
The Main Place, which has multiple locations in Licking and Knox
Counties (Ohio). The Main Place provides recovery programs, peer
support, case management, supportive housing, and peer employment.

 

 

 


 

 

 

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