A new paradigm of youth recovery: Implications for youth mental health service provision

Abstract

The recovery model and practice orientation is promoted as a central feature of mental health service provision across the English speaking world. Yet the model relies on adult frameworks and its applicability to the youth recovery experience has not been established. The current qualitative study explored the common themes in the recovery experiences of 15 young people aged 18-23 years with severe mental health conditions from the Eastern Metropolitan Region of Melbourne, Australia. The aim of the study was to develop a thematic model of youth recovery utilising the experiences of young people with severe mental illness. These findings are then discussed in relation to common themes found in adult recovery research and in regard to the current understanding of young people and recovery. Qualitative data was inductively coded into a thematic model of youth recovery forming two overarching themes. The first was defined as ecological systems (ES) including three subthemes (personal, systemic, and macro). The second was defined as youth recovery processes drawing narratives from across the ES to form five subthemes (self-belief and resilience; responsibility and personal agency; identity, awareness and acceptance; connection; and hope and positive expectations). The resulting themes revealed the critical importance of the ecological context in the personal recovery experiences of young people. It is contended that recovery in this stage of the lifespan is best conceptualised within this ecological framework. Implications for youth recovery conceptualisation and mental health service delivery are discussed.

‘Don’t abandon me’: Young people’s experiences of child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient care supporting recovery described in blogs

“…2020; Rayner et al . 2018; Schneidtinger & Haslinger‐Baumann 2019). However, there is little research that focuses on the recovery experiences of young people (Rayner et al .…”

“…However, there is little research that focuses on the recovery experiences of young people (Rayner et al . 2018). The CHIME framework – describing connectedness, hope, identity, meaning/purpose, and empowerment as core elements of recovery (Leamy et al .…”

“…2020; Rayner et al . 2018). Also, parents are believed to have a substantial impact on young people’s recovery (Naughton et al .…”

“…Youth recovery processes include the development of self‐belief and resilience; responsibility and personal agency; identity, awareness, and acceptance; connection; and hope and positive expectations (Rayner et al . 2018).…”

Development of a Lived Experience-Based Digital Resource for a Digitally-Assisted Peer Support Program for Young People Experiencing Psychosis

“…Understanding how personal recovery could be conceptualized in young people experiencing psychosis was important in learning about the specific personal recovery priorities relevant to this population to create the digital peer videos. Existing research on the theoretical framework of personal recovery in mental health [i.e., CHIME; ( 11 )] have predominantly been conducted in adult mental health populations, with the exception of a couple of studies exploring personal recovery in young people with a range of mental health experiences ( 17 , 69 ). The specific personal recovery areas for young people with psychosis, however needs to be explored further, as personal recovery is a dynamic process ( 59 ).…”