Recovery from mental illness: a service user perspective on facilitators and barriers

Mental health services strive to implement a recovery-oriented approach to rehabilitation. Little is known about service users' perception of the recovery approach. The aim is to explore the service user's perspectives on facilitators and barriers associated with recovery. Twelve residents living in supported housing services are interviewed. The analysis is guided by a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach and the interpretation involves theories from critical theory, sociology, and learning. Learning, social relations, and willpower are identified as having an impact on recovery. Stigmatization and social barriers occurred. Social relations to peer residents and staff were reported as potentially having a positive and negative impact on recovery. Studies have explored the user's perspectives on recovery but this study contributes with knowledge on how recovery-oriented services have an impact on recovery.