Constructing recovery: A Lived Experience and post-structuralist exploration of how the meaning of personal recovery and rehabilitation has changed over time

Abstract

Objective This article explores how the concept of 'recovery' has been much debated and often sits at odds with our notion of rehabilitation. Method This article provides a Lived Experience and post-structural commentary on the ever-changing meaning of recovery and rehabilitation. Results Building on the contemporary Consumer Movement’s use of the term recovery, this article explores how constructions of recovery try to create a boundary which stops people being invalidated based on their experience, or perceived experience, of mental distress. The concept of recovery has insufficiently influenced rehabilitation practices. Recovery is also frequently reappropriated, often with no or minimal consumer input, and reconstructed in line with notions of progress and improvement. Conclusion People with Lived Experience have challenged the concept of rehabilitation; however, rehabilitation may still have relevance if it is redefined according to Lived Experience values and recovery-oriented practice.