Recovery in Severe Mental Illnesses: A Literature Review of Recovery Measures

Recovery is an increasingly important construct in mental health services for adults with serious mental illnesses. It is defined as an active process of integrating mental health care with daily existence, creating a purposeful life regardless of diagnosis. Social work principles align with central values of recovery. Social workers who provide services to consumers may find it helpful to use a standardized recovery instrument in practice. The authors conducted a literature review to identify recovery instruments and assess the characteristics of those instruments, examining specifically the definitions of recovery, the nature of consumer involvement in instrument development, and the psychometric properties of recovery instruments. Multiple databases (CINHAL, JSTOR, PubMed, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Social Sciences Citation Index, Social Services Abstracts, and Social Work Abstracts) were searched, as well as the gray literature. Seventeen articles discussing 12 recovery instruments were identified, with widely different conceptualizations of recovery, types of consumer involvement, and psychometric properties. Social workers should consider the purposes for which they wish to use a recovery instrument and, when appropriate, discuss recovery conceptualizations and goals with consumers. They should then select an instrument that best matches these goals. On the basis of this review, several instruments may be helpful to social workers in providing services to consumers.