Laura Doyle, coordinator of one of the IMPACT Networks on recovery-based approaches to mental health, shared the reflection below on the importance of embedding recovery principles in practice and listening to stories of recovery.
“Recovery” is a word that gets used a lot in mental health. But what does it actually mean – day to day, person to person – in real life?
As part of the Network on Recovery-Based Approaches in Mental Health, Laura Doyle coordinated a Network in Northern Ireland, which explored that question through conversation. Around the table were people with lived experience of mental health challenges, front-line practitioners, practice leaders and community volunteers – each bringing their own perspective, each carrying their own story.
What emerged has been captured in a co-produced video: a collection of reflections on what recovery is, what gets in the way, and what genuinely helps. We are launching this video with this blog this week to raise awareness around mental health.
Listening to lived experience
From the beginning, the Network’s tone was open and honest. Some participants spoke about their time in hospital – not as a place of healing, but as somewhere that could feel restrictive and disconnected.
“You’re in a room with nothing to do, no stimulation. You can’t even step outside for fresh air. It doesn’t feel like recovery – it feels like being stuck.”
Others reflected on what was missing:
“No one was talking about your rights, about what you needed as a person. It was all about managing risk, not helping you get better.”
These experiences stayed with them. But alongside these accounts were very different stories.
People spoke about the value of being back in their own homes, supported through community-based models like those delivered by Praxis Care.
“Living in my own place changed everything. I still had support from staff, but I had my independence too.”
“It’s not just the professionals – it’s the other people around you who understand. That peer support means a lot.”
Recovery beyond services
Throughout the IMPACT Network, it became clear that recovery doesn’t happen in isolation, and it doesn’t belong to services alone. Participants talked about the role of community: volunteers who offer their time through arts initiatives, people involved in befriending schemes, and even the role of community policing in moments of crisis.
When you’re in crisis, it’s often the people around you who step in first. That community response really matters.”
The Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), delivered through Recovery Colleges, stood out as particularly meaningful.
“WRAP helped me understand myself—what my triggers are, what helps, and what to do when things start to slip.”
“It gives you something to hold onto. A plan that’s yours.”
Members of the Network also discussed the CHIME framework, which was presented in the first meeting as part of the evidence review. Members often described it in their own words rather than as a formal model:
“You need people around you, you need hope, and you need to feel like yourself again. That’s what recovery is.”
This became the central message of the video.
From conversation to action
These conversations didn’t stay in the room. Two clear priorities began to emerge. The first was the importance of creating space for people to tell their recovery stories – on their own terms, in their own words. The second was the need to improve how people are supported as they leave services.
“Leaving hospital can feel like falling off a cliff. You need proper support and information—otherwise you’re just left to figure it out.”
“Hearing someone else’s story can make you think, ‘maybe I can get there too.’ That’s powerful.”
Both priorities speak to the same underlying issue: people need to feel seen, heard, and supported – not just during a crisis, but beyond and before it.
A different way of thinking about recovery
What this Network and the video show is that recovery is not a single pathway or outcome. It is not linear, and it cannot be prescribed.
“Recovery isn’t about going back to who you were. It’s about finding a way forward.”
It is built through relationships, shaped by environments, and sustained by hope. As explained by the members:
“We wanted to show that recovery is possible – even if it looks different for everyone.”
Most importantly, it is defined by the people living it.
The launch of this video is an invitation – to listen more closely, to think differently, and to continue building approaches to mental health that are grounded in real lives and shared understanding.