ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at recovery journeys after shipwreck, that is after a crisis or acute period of mental distress during which participants received medical or psychological intervention. Interpretation was essential for participants who could not speak English if they were to benefit from a home visit. Service users appreciate services that help them gently rebuild day-to-day functioning after a breakdown while providing them with a venue for socialising. Racism can prevent service users develop supporting and understanding relationships with each other. Building a life for oneself was a theme in the recovery journey of full-time carers. Because of the barriers in the labour market and prolonged unemployment, benefits were essential to many participants' survival. If there was a common theme across the recovery journeys of the participants, it is that they were striving to get back into the driving seat of their lives.
