Objective: This study systematically reviews the systematic review (SR) evidence on mental health recovery from the perspective of adults with mental illness. Methods: Web of Science, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and the libraries of the Cochrane Collaboration, Campbell Collaboration, and Joanna Briggs Institute were searched to identify eligible SRs including qualitative primary research. Two reviewers independently conducted data extraction and quality assessment. Overlap of primary studies was calculated. A framework for recovery was generated using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: An ecological model of recovery that included elements of psychological well-being was generated from 25 studies bridging personal/clinical, individual/social, and process/outcome conceptualizations of recovery. The first theme was a definition of recovery as a transformation from a negative identity state marked by despair, brokenness, and helplessness to a positive state of psychological wellbeing. This transformation was contingent upon four additional themes that included: (a) social and environmental conditions supporting access to basic resources and safety; (b) development of a sense of autonomy and personal responsibility; (c) roles and relationships that facilitated the personal experience of belonging and meaning; and (d) enlightenment defined as acceptance of the illness as a part of oneself and insight into how to promote well-being. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: Professionals working in recovery-oriented systems must consider how the subjective self-representations of persons with mental illness and objective social relationships interact to impact recovery. We close by discussing interventions that may promote the personal and social conditions of recovery. Impact and ImplicationsEvidence from systematic reviews of persons with mental illness supports an ecological model of mental health recovery. Clinicians and peers serving persons with mental illness must assess how structural, interpersonal, and intrapersonal factors inhibit or amplify the subjective experience of recovery. Wellness and recovery-oriented services play an important role in supporting positive psychological growth.

Background. Discourse on the possibility of recovery from serious mental illness has become increasingly dominant among mental health professionals. Mental health recovery has been conceptualized variously by researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, and persons with mental illness. Several systematic reviews have synthesized the experience of recovery from the perspective of persons with mental illness, and offer different models of recovery. This proposed overview aims to summarize the methodological characteristics of systematic reviews on mental health recovery and to synthesize models of recovery from the perspective of persons with mental illness. Design and analysis. The authors will use systematic review methods to identify and synthesize systematic reviews on the phenomenon of recovery in mental illness. A pre-specified search strategy will be used to search academic databases and libraries of the Campbell Collaboration, Cochrane Collaboration, and Joanna Briggs Institute for published and gray literature. Two authors will independently screen titles/abstracts and full texts. Authors will pilot the data extraction form before independently extracting data and appraising study quality. Reflexive thematic analysis, informed by a hermeneutic orientation towards the included texts, will be used to synthesize models of recovery presented in eligible studies. Discussion. This overview will synthesize systematic review evidence on consumer perspectives of mental health recovery. Findings could inform future research, clinical practice, and policy by elucidating similarities and differences in recovery models across demographic or diagnostic categories and identifying how environmental, interpersonal, and intrapersonal factors contribute to recovery. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42019142970