Mental Health Recovery: Engaging and Empowering People Living With Mental Illness and Their Families

The understanding of recovery in the field of mental health has gone beyond symptom remission. According to Patricia Deegan, a researcher and a psychologist with lived experience of schizophrenia, “The concept of recovery is rooted in the simple and yet profound realization that people who have been diagnosed with mental illness are human beings…The goal is to become the unique, awesome, never to be repeated human being that we are called to be”. Deegan’s assertion gives researchers and practitioners an important inspiration that people with lived experience of mental illness should play a key role in the recovery process. Many studies have shown that engaging and empowering people with lived experience of mental illness in the recovery process not only improves the individual’s health outcomes but also brings benefits to the whole mental healthcare system. In addition, the more recent development of the concept of recovery has transcended the individualistic approaches and led to the concept of relational recovery which more emphasizes the interpersonal aspects of recovery. Especially in collectivism-orientated contexts, people tend to see themselves as an integral member of interpersonal networks, with families holding a significant role. Therefore, engaging and empowering families of people with lived experience should not be neglected in the recovery process.

Despite the growing support for the concept of recovery in the field of mental health, there are still limited publications on how to better engage and empower people with lived experience and their families. The recently launched WHO framework for meaningful engagement of people living with non-communicable diseases, and mental health and neurological conditions points out that there continues to be an underrepresentation of experience from people living with mental illness and their families in the field of mental health, due to various reasons including knowledge, resources, and stigma.

Previous studies suggest that the use of electronics and the Internet, peer-led support, and culturally competent care could be three promising strategies to increase the engagement and empowerment of people with lived experience and their families in recovery-oriented mental healthcare. The WHO framework has also identified five major principles for meaningful engagement: (1) dignity and respect; (2) power and equity; (3) inclusivity and intersectionality; (4) commitment and transparency; and (5) institutionalization and contextualization.

With engaging and empowering people with lived experience and families in fostering recovery at its core, this Research Topic aims to further advance knowledge along this direction and gives special interest to the following the sub-topics including, but not limited to:
- Awareness and capacity of engagement and empowerment among service users and providers in the field of mental health;
- Experience of engagement and empowerment among people with lived experience of mental illness and families in the recovery process;
- Barriers and facilitators of implementing engagement and empowerment in mental health recovery;
- Development of new strategies and models of engagement and empowerment in mental health recovery, and their effectiveness evaluations;
- Cultural considerations of engagement and empowerment, especially on the role of families, in mental health recovery;
- Roles of new technologies (e.g., use of digital technology) in promoting engagement and empowerment in mental health recovery;
- Institutional considerations (e.g., national and local policies) in fostering engagement and empowerment in mental health recovery.

Original research conducted in clinical or community settings and from diverse cultural backgrounds is welcomed. All types of study design, including cross-sectional, correlational, experimental, longitudinal, qualitative methods, systematic reviews, and psychometric evaluations, are welcome. We particularly encourage the autoethnographic study, personal recovery narratives by people with lived experience and families, and research involving people with lived experience and/or families as partners in the co-creation of evidence-based knowledge.