ABSTRACT
This chapter explores what recovery means to those diagnosed with a psychiatric condition. It considers the ways in which people working in mental health services can support their journeys of recovery by inspiring hope, enabling them to take back control, and facilitating access to opportunities to achieve their life goals. The Health Foundation funded a shared decision-making project in four child and adolescent mental health services, which resulted in a new approach to the conduct of all conversations from the point of first contact onwards. Young people felt a greater sense of engagement and empowerment that enriched their experience of care and allowed them to take ownership of their treatment and begin to understand the reasons behind the clinical work being done with them. Care plans and safety plans, developed via a process of shared decision making should explicitly support the person to take back control over their problems and their life.
