The Recovery Narrative: Politics and Possibilities of a Genre

Abstract

Recovery is now widely acknowledged as the dominant approach to the management of mental distress and illness in government, third-sector and some peer-support contexts across the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the Anglophone Global North. Although narrative has long been recognised in practice and in policy as a key ''technology of recovery,'' there has been little critical investigation of how recovery narratives are constituted and mobilised, and with what consequences. This paper offers an interdisciplinary, critical medical humanities analysis of the politics and possibilities of Recovery Narrative, drawing literary theoretical concepts of genre and philosophical approaches to the narrative self into conversation with the critiques of recovery advanced by survivor-researchers, sociologists and mad studies scholars. Our focus is not on the specific stories of individuals, but on the form, function and effects of Recovery Narrative as a highly circumscribed kind of storytelling. We identify the assumptions, lacunae and areas of tension which compel a more critical approach to the way this genre is operationalised in and beyond mental health services, and conclude by reflecting on the possibilities offered by other communicative formats, spaces and practices.

The mechanisms and processes of connection: developing a causal chain model capturing impacts of receiving recorded mental health recovery narratives

“…The use of recovery narratives within mental health services has been argued to fulfil a neoliberal agenda [36].…”

Contact with recovered peers: buffering disempowering service experiences and promoting personal recovery in serious mental illness

“…This is especially important given arguments recently advanced in the medical humanities literature that recovery narratives in mental health policy and mainstream services represent only a narrow subset of the possible experiences of recovery. 39 Future research, informed by a broader literature (anthropology, philosophy, cultural theory, sociology), can usefully examine the subjective, objective, facilitated and spontaneous facets of this construct, and the conditions in which recovery is facilitated or impeded by peer contact (i.e. contact between individuals in different phases of wellness).…”

Not the story you want? Assessing the fit of a conceptual framework characterising mental health recovery narratives

“…Narrow interpretations of recovery narratives may be operationalised for organisational rather than individual benefit [39], whether by mental health services, charities and campaigns, which may promote narratives of returns to productivity via treatment and medication, or by activist movements, which may promote narratives of rejecting medication and finding the tools to cope with trauma without drugs [41]. These forms of "Recovery Narrative", dependent upon "tight adherence to generic conventions" for their efficacy [40], may put pressure on narrators to conform to particular types of narrative depending on their context [41]. This effect can be seen in the statement from an apologetic narrator above, a peer support worker in a recovery college, who felt her story was "not the story you want, I'm sure".…”

“…'Endurance' and 'struggling day to day' narratives challenge the "compulsory positivity" [42] of some organisational agendas, while offering hope to recipients in the form of reducing isolation. Socio-cultural and systemic factors within the typology challenge narrativebased interventions which may promote storylines which "deflect attention from systemic inequalities and social injustice" [40]. The presence of 'downbeat' and 'neutral' tones support the inclusion of stories which may not conform to a "genre of inspiration", required to be emotionally uplifting [40], but which may be experienced as more authentic, a key moderator for positive impact on a recipient [14].…”

“…Socio-cultural and systemic factors within the typology challenge narrativebased interventions which may promote storylines which "deflect attention from systemic inequalities and social injustice" [40]. The presence of 'downbeat' and 'neutral' tones support the inclusion of stories which may not conform to a "genre of inspiration", required to be emotionally uplifting [40], but which may be experienced as more authentic, a key moderator for positive impact on a recipient [14]. As evidence of both benefits and harms of stories emerges [43] it becomes increasingly important that individuals are offered a variety of examples, to maximise their chances of experiencing connection and hope [44].…”