Recovery orientation in client work

Who are these guidelines intended for?

Working according to this framework is suitable for almost all social and health care client work, but it is especially relevant in mental health, substance abuse, and addiction services. The guidelines can be used by all professionals working in these services who meet clients or patients, such as nurses, social workers, and doctors.

What is recovery orientation?

Recovery orientation refers to a way of thinking and working that emphasizes the individual's right to define what is meaningful in their own life and what goals they want to set for themselves. The work is based on seeing the person as a whole, not just through their diagnosis. 

Key values include individuality, participation, self-determination, hope, and a sense of meaning. Recovery is not just about eliminating symptoms, but rather a process in which a person builds a meaningful life despite the limitations of their illness. In recovery-oriented work, the interaction between the professional and the client is based on mutual respect and trust. The client's understanding of their own situation is considered to be just as important as the professional's expertise.

Practical implementation

During the meeting, the professional listens to the client's goals and values their views. The discussion focuses on strengthening hope, supporting the client's knowledge and skills, and strengthening their social network. The CHIME model (Leamy et al 2011) can be applied in the work, according to which recovery is possible when five different areas are taken into account:

• Partnership
• Hope
• Identity
• Meaning
• Empowerment

These are utilized in a way that supports the client's social inclusion, which may mean, for example, finding employment, participating in hobbies, and taking on various social roles. The work identifies and reinforces the client's strengths. Trust and open dialogue are central to this work. The work is based on the client's goals and a jointly agreed care/client plan.

Tips for encounters

Encounters with customers or patients may be very brief or happen by chance, in addition to pre-arranged meetings. In all situations, respectful and appreciative interaction should be taken into account.

• Listen genuinely and respect the customer's identity.
• Use positive and encouraging language.
• Reinforce hope and belief in the future.
• Ask the customer about their own goals.

In client work, you can reflect and plan together: what hinders, what supports, what new things could be adopted, what would be the smallest possible step forward. Together, you can experiment, explore, and take safe risks, as well as enable new experiences that allow both parties to step outside their comfort zones.

Self-assessment

Employees can assess their own work by asking, for example:

• Did the meeting reinforce the client's strengths and increase their hope?
• Did I encourage the client to manage their problems, for example by providing information or reinforcing existing management strategies?
• Did I give examples related to my own or the client's experiences that inspire and reinforce hope?
• Did I express my respectful attitude towards the client and convey my desire for an equal partnership when working together?
• Did my work help the client identify their goals?

In addition to these questions, you can also consider how you did these things. It is also good to discuss these themes together in the work community. Through independent and joint reflection, your approach to work will develop and remain recovery-oriented. 

Choice of words

The language used in client work affects how people perceive their chances of recovery. Stigmatizing terms should be replaced with words that reinforce hope and inclusion. It is important to value and give space to the client's own story.. The choice of words should also be taken into account in documentation so that both challenges and strengths are highlighted in the text. For example, should a person be referred to as schizophrenic or by their own name, and should it be stated that they suffer from a mental illness or live with a mental illness? 

The role of the organization 

The organization creates structures that support recovery orientation. Training and supervision ensure that staff understand the principles and know how to apply them in practice. Service development is based on client experiences, not just clinical indicators.

When implementing a recovery orientation, it is important to consider the following:

• Use of diverse information
• Cooperation between different actors
• Commitment to the approach
• Planning and structures
• Time for work and development
• Ensuring orientation and continuity of expertise
• Factors that facilitate or hinder work, such as excessive formality or hierarchy, must be taken into account in management.

List of recovery-oriented trainers

The trainers on the list have extensive and diverse work experience in recovery orientation. The list can be used to find a trainer suitable for different situations and purposes.

You can order the list of trainers by sending an email to project manager Saara Rapeli ([email protected]). For data protection reasons, the list cannot be published on this website.

Are you a recovery-oriented trainer yourself? The list of trainers is updated regularly, and you can also be added to the list by filling in the form below.
Recovery-oriented trainer survey (in Finnish)