A new approach to help those with mental illness
What is Psychiatric Recovery?
The understanding of mental illness is ever evolving. Cures are not discussed. Until now, the only goal was achieving stability.
When most mental health professionals speak of “mental health recovery,” they about recovering of one’s life after diagnosis, not necessarily healing from the illness.
However, real recovery–the kind that happens when the symptoms of the illness actually go in complete remission for extended periods of time IS possible.
How is recovery possible?
Recovery is possible for anyone with a psychiatric diagnosis when they have the proper medical and psychosocial support.
Find a doctor who recognizes that symptoms of mental illness have a variety of underlying causes:
- biotoxins in the blood stream agitate the brain and central nervous system
- Environmental toxins (living in a home with unresolved water damage)
- history of many antibiotics
- dietary choices
- nutritional deficiencies
- hormonal imbalances
- unresolved traumas and/or living in discord with personal value system
- heavy metals (copper, iron, mercury, etc)
- histamine overload
- methylation issues (MTHFR gene variations)
- many other causes we’re still discovering
Psychiatric services based on the Recovery Model are essential. Recognizing that while counseling and medicine are part of recovery, Recovery happens when all aspects of the Recovery Model are in place.
What is the Recovery Model?
People living with mental illness developed The Recovery Model, a cultural paradigm shift not based on diagnosis or prognosis, recognizing such for only two purposes, billing and qualifying for services. This model’s foundation draws its strength from lived-experience with mental illness. The Recovery Model recognizes the person with the diagnosis as the expert of living with their symptoms.
What are the Peer-based principles of Recovery?
Many peers (people with lived experience with mental illness) feel that the term “Principles” is too clinical and therefore too impersonal for Recovery purposes. Instead, peers prefer to use the term “Recovery Pathways.” How one finds and explores these Recovery Pathways will be unique to each person. There are five pillars of Recovery :
- Hope
- Choice [& Accountability]
- Empowerment
- Recovery Environment and using Recovery Language
- Spirituality/Meaning & Purpose
Learn from Sarah about Recovery
Sarah guest lectures for university mental health programs, non-profits, churches, school groups, and family organizations about how to help people find and move forward on their own recovery path.
