Wellness

&

Recovery

The final component of the program is the adoption of Wellness and Recovery principles into each element of the program.  The goal of wellness and recovery is to assist clients to achieve a sense of good emotional health, the development of a personal support network, an increased personal sense of quality of life and the reestablishment of normal roles in their home community.

Wellness is expressed as the clients’ sense of good emotional, physical and spiritual health.  Achieving wellness is the process by which clients actively develop and practice the skills necessary to shift the responsibility for their recovery away from the professional and to the individual.  When empowered through information and choice, wellness can be achieved and maintained by persons with mental illness.

Recovery is a common human experience, as most people have recovered from injury, illness or trauma at some point in their lives. Mental illness is particularly devastating because people with a psychiatric disability are often left profoundly disconnected from themselves, others, their community or their own sense of purpose and meaning.  Stigmatization of those with mental illness further compounds the sense of alienation because it presents a barrier to rebuilding connections with themselves, others and their community.

The program will assist the client in authoring a strength-based Personal Recovery Plan that focuses on:

•Personal acceptance of the mental health condition

•Building on the existing strengths of each individual

•Teaching new skills to maintain individual wellness and recovery

•Facilitating self-reliance, self advocacy and empowerment

•Supporting the client’s sense of autonomy and hope

•Facilitating the client’s reintegration into the community

•Supporting the integrity of each person’s journey

Through the wellness and recovery process, individuals will rebuild and further develop important personal, social, community, spiritual and environmental connections through personal empowerment.  Recovery is a process of adjusting attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and goals in life; it a process of self-discovery and transformation.  It is the goal of the program to provide the education, support and opportunity for each client to improve their sense of self-reliance, autonomy, empowerment and hope.