Mental health recovery in a collectivist society: Saudi consumers, carers and nurses' shared perspectives

Abstract

In 2019, the World Health Organization urged a global shift towards recovery‐focused practices in mental health care. In Western nations, this transition often prioritised individualism over collectivism. In contrast, collectivist societies prioritise recovery through community and social support. This study explored mental health recovery from the perspectives of consumers, carers and registered nurses in a mainly collectivist society (Saudi Arabia) using a qualitative exploratory descriptive design. Sixteen consumers, ten carers and eight registered nurses participated in online semi‐structured interviews. Inductive thematic analysis was employed to analyse English‐translated versions of the 34 interviews. Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies 32‐item checklist were used. The study found that recovery was perceived as a process of transforming towards living a meaningful life of goals and values supported by trusted people who share moments of comfort and empowerment. A unique finding was the ‘bond of recovery’ a collectivist value that aid consumers' community integration in society. Saudi consumers' experiences of recovery were similar to consumers' movement narratives of recovery. Future research should establish a recovery‐focused educational program that incorporates our findings into a recovery‐oriented approach. This will facilitate providing a collaborative care between consumers, carers and nurses that centres around consumers' recovery goals and values.