Recovery: the heart and soul of treatment.
Recovery is a process by which an individual recovers their self-esteem, dreams, self-worth, pride, choice, dignity and meaning. This paper discusses these issues, as well as offering suggestions on how clinicians and the system can help support the process. Recovery is about treating the whole person, identifying their strengths, instilling hope, and helping them to function at an optimal level by allowing them to take responsibility for their life. Also discussed is the importance of using setbacks as learning opportunities, the internal and external obstacles that people in recovery face, and the need to embrace the humanity of people in recovery.