Exploring the Experiences of Personal Recovery among Mental Health Consumers and Their Caregivers Receiving Strength- Based Family Interventions

Background:This study explored the personal recovery of consumers and their caregivers receiving the strength-based family intervention.Method:A three-year project was implemented with 43 dyads from 5 community psychiatric rehabilitation agencies in northern,central,and Southern Taiwan.This paper presents qualitative analysis with a focus on describing the experiences of personal recovery.To gain a deeper understanding of the participants’personal experiences and perspectives,semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted on three occasions(six months after the inception of the experiment,18 months after,and when the participants left the services of this study).Over the three occasions,a total of 27 consumers and 28 caregivers were interviewed.Data analysis was conducted based on grounded theory.Results:Consumers expressed positive experiences in the domain of the recovery process(positive sense of self,taking responsibility,and better coping)and on the objective indicators of recovery(functioning,interpersonal interaction,and family relationship).Caregivers experienced lessened psychological burdens.They also revealed improvements to their sense of self(recovery process)and subjective indicators of recovery outcomes,including feeling empowered and having a better quality of life.Moreover,they had better interaction with consumers(objective domain of recovery).Conclusion:These findings suggest that the strength-based perspective is an acceptable,culturally-compatible approach among Chinese mental health consumers and their caregivers.The investigators suggest that additional resources would be necessary to support a change in the service system in Taiwan so that family-based services can be provided to promote the recovery of mental health consumers and their family caregivers.