ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses recovery processes identified by people who testify to the value of peer support in the lives of those experiencing and recovering from mental distress or 'mental illness'. Listening to other people's stories also provided very practical information about the process of recovery. Hope is increasingly recognised by service users and mental health professionals as an important element of people's recovery. The warmth of friendly reciprocal interaction within the group generated a range of recovery resources, including: empathy, understanding, acceptance, compassion and love. Witnessing other people's recovery and experiencing the successful development of their own resources for living led to a genuine transformation in the way people dealt with life. People began to understand recovery as an educational process effected through reciprocal relationships with compassionate others rather than as a balancing of biochemistry which was dependent on the expertise of remote professionals.
