Community participation and recovery for mental health service users: An action research inquiry

Fieldhouse, Jon

Abstract

Introduction: The social inclusion of individuals with mental health problems is an issue for mental health services, for the individuals who experience stigma, discrimination and exclusion, and for society at large. To develop community-orientated services that are capable of promoting inclusion it will, therefore, be advantageous to all parties to understand what service users find most helpful. Method: A 2-year action research project explored the recovery journeys of a group of assertive outreach service users who had progressed from being socially excluded and occupationally deprived to being participants in their local communities. The research aimed to understand how these outcomes were produced and to use this knowledge to inform local service development. Findings: This paper focuses on eight qualitative interviews, where service users recounted their stories of community participation and inclusion. The findings show how assertive outreach practitioners harnessed occupation as a basis for building relationships between practitioners and service users, and how this became a conduit towards participation in the mainstream community. Conclusion: Facilitating engagement in community-based occupations through creative collaboration helped participants reconnect with cherished roles, achieve long-standing goals and develop feelings of self-efficacy, belonging and wellbeing.© The College of Occupational Therapists Ltd.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2012
• Deposit Date: Oct 18, 2012
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 15, 2016
• Journal: British Journal of Occupational Therapy
• Print ISSN: 0308-0226
• Electronic ISSN: 1477-6006
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 75
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 419-428
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4276/030802212X13470263980838
• Keywords: community mental health, social inclusion, recovery
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/944177
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.4276/030802212X13470263980838
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This article, Fieldhouse, J. (2012) Community participation and recovery for mental health service users: An action research inquiry. The British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 75 (9). pp. 419-428. ISSN 0308-0226, was first published in The British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 1 September 2012.
• Contract Date: Nov 15, 2016