ABSTRACT
This volume, Recovery and Wellness: Models of Hope and Empowerment for People with Mental Illness, is intended to provide perspective, thought provoking commentary, and practical information. The Recovery Model has emerged from the consumer movement. As discussed in more detail in this collection, the Recovery Model includes the process of gaining control over one’s life, appreciating and valuing the uniqueness of oneself, belonging and participating in a community and establishing and realizing hopes and dreams. For many reasons, the philosophy and practices of recovery may be unnerving to service providers. For instance, when one has operated from a position of control, it can be hard to give it up. Service providers may feel that their training and expertise is no longer valued. Furthermore, it can be difficult for service providers to come to terms with their own participation in oppressive systems. On the other hand, as this collection attests, when service providers such as occupational therapists adopt a Recovery Model approach the experience can inspire and enhance the therapist/consumer relationship as well as the therapy process.
