Recovery from Mental Illness

Stories Articles Activities

Recovery Stories

Schizophrenia recovery stories from Schizophrenia.com NAMI-SCC (Santa Cruz County) Recovery Page
The "Hidden Meaning" Behind My Recovery and Re-Integration, by Patricia Lefave Anchorage Daily News Article on Ionia The Consumer/Survivor/Ex-patient Oral History Project: Four Willard Psychiatric Center Stories Recovery and the Conspiracy of Hope by Patricia E. Deegan Ph.D.  PDF Version
NEW YORK CITY VOICES Recovery Stories: Personal stories of mental health recovery  “Self-Determination for People with Psychiatric Disabilities: Personal Obstacles and Facilitators,” Joseph A. Rogers & Susan Rogers
My Story Mistaken for Schizophrenic
Psychiatry’s Unholy Trinity--Fraud, Fear And Force: A Personal Account, by Leonard Roy Frank, appearing in Ideas on Liberty, August, 2002.  
  The Un-drugging of Annie Freedom by Irit Shimrat Jim Gottstein
Life After Psychiatry by Wilma A. Boevink How I Trimphed Over Schizophrenia by Jimmy Cheah My Unchosen Journey Through Mental Illness by Clover Smith Oral Histories from the Support Coalition International
Dying to Live and Living to Die, Prologue by Irving Bronsky Recovery Stories from the National Empowerment Center
"Weller than Well." Sparrow's Story Andrea Hercha Schmook Pat Risser
Strengthened by Schizophrenia - Michael Allen's story Overcoming the Impossible: My Journey Through Schizophrenia by Ronald Bassman, Ph.D.
Famously Shameless, Michelle Shocked, Keynote Address, NARPA Annual Rights Conference, November 20, 2003 A Mothers Journey My story of healing after Post Partum Psychosis By, Jenny Marie Hatch (Book length, $10)
Recovery is possible by Tracey May
No Picnic in Sight, by Eric Shapiro Overcoming Schizophrenia by Leonard Shockey Stepping Stones to Recovery: My Mental Health Story My Story, by Dan Fisher, M.D.
My Story of Hope by Cheryl Allen Recovering as a "Religious Fanatic" Steven Honig:  I Found My Place Recovery by Les Mitchell
Schizophrenia and My Mystical Journey by Ricky Gee Discovering Recovery by Gene Deegan My Story of Defeats and Successes, by Mike Gladu Scott E. Huffman's Adventures with Psychiatry
The Long and Winding Road to Recovery by Jean Esplin Without Mask: Recovery is Possible by Tracey May Some of Us are Happy and Content in Our "Insanity." My Name is Mara McWilliams
Closing the medicine cabinet door: The debate over drugs to treat mental illness, Hampshire Gazette, August 20, 2004. Building a Career When Living with a Mood Disorder 
By "Sabina Morris"

Recovery Articles/Links

Recovery Resources on the Internet Inclusive Livable Communities for People with Psychiatric Disabilties, National Council on Disability, by Dan Fisher and Judi Chamberlin (2008) Successful Schizoprenia
Top Ten Findings: Ohio Longitudinal Consumer Outcomes Study (1999) The Resiliency Center.  
How do We Recover? An Analysis of Psychiatric Survivor Oral Histories, by Oryx Cohen, in Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Vol . 45 No. 3, Summer 2005 333-354 Beautiful Minds Can Be Reclaimed, by Courtenay M. Harding, NY Times Benefits of Peer Provided Services and Drop In Centers
Alternative Mental Health Links Hope: Harvesting Our Personal Efforts Recovering and Recovery in Schizophrenia, VA in MindView, January, 2007.
briefing papers presented at The National Self-Determination and Psychiatric Disability Invitational Conference: We Make the Road by Traveling on It. You Decide Who Decides-Yeah Right, by Anne Marsden
Effective Therapy Measuring the Promise: A Compendium of Recovery Measures, Volume II, from the Evaluation Center of  Human Resources International, September, 2005.
The Writer as Activist: Eric Shapiro Elaborates on Alternative Mental Health. Spirituality and Mental Illness by Diana Nielsen Recovery:  A New Word in Serious Mental Illness, by Colleen Patrick, Behavioral Healthcare Tomorrow . August 2002
"Recovering" Consumers and a Broken Mental Health System in the United States: Ongoing Challenges for Consumers / Survivors and the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, by Athena McLean, Ph.D., International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 2003: 8, 47-68.
Compilation of the briefing papers presented in October 2003, at The National Self-Determination and Psychiatric Disability Invitational Conference: We Make the Road by Traveling on It. The papers, written by people with psychiatric disabilities and other experts, were designed to summarize current knowledge about self-determination, and to suggest action steps for the future.
Emile Kraepelin Reconsidered: Confronting The Possibility Of Recovery From Serious Mental Illness by Elizabeth Richter Coloring Therapy Mastering Life Series by Steven Honig
Recovery Through Art by artist Mara McWilliams. Finding Our Voice! Ending The Silence by Mary Ellen Copeland
Mental health recovery: what helps and what hinders? A national research project for the development of recovery facilitating system performance indicators Making Space, Spirituality and Mental Health, The Mary Hemingway Rees Memorial Lecture World Assembly for Mental Health Vancouver, July 2001 by Julie Leibrich
Mental Health Recovery Links from the Recovery Directory Recovery at Rethink in the UK
Whose Reality is it Anyway?  Consumers/Survivors/Ex-Patients Can Speak for Themselves, by Ronald Bassman People Are More Important than Pills in Recovery from Mental Disorder, by Daniel Fisher
National Research and Training Center's Self-Determination Page The Recovery Model (PDF)    by Les Mitchell   Zuzu's Place: Cooperative Living for Psychiatric Survivors
Controlling the Voices Recovery, by Ruth O. Ralph, Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service Motivation by Mary Ellen Copeland The Peer/Self-Advocacy Training Manual
The Fountain House  Diet by Mary Ellen Copeland
Recovery from the National Technical Assistance Center for State Mental Health Planning The Mental Health System:  Recovery Should be the Goal   by Jim Gottstein Self-Responsibility and Recovery by Andrea Hercha Schmook People can recover from mental illness, by Daniel Fisher, M.D., Ph.D. and Laurie Ahern
What is Recovery? by Andrea Hercha Schmook Recovery is a Choice by Andrea Hercha Schmook CHOICES: Consumers Having Ownership In Creating Effective Services A Holistic View of Mental Health by Andrea Hercha Schmook
Vermont Recovery Education located at Vermont Psychiatric Survivors Implications of Consumer Direction for Disability Policy - Development and Rehabilitation Service Delivery
The International Model of Recovery and Reclamation Margot Kidder Mental Wellness Page Two Sides of Recovery
 by Wilma Boevink		 Could it Have Been Different?
by Mary Ellen Copeland
Recovery Pods: A Proposal for Communal Consumer Recovery Living Centers by Roger Branson Recovery: Responsibilities and Roadblocks, by Jim Gottstein The Experience of Schizophrenia, Ian Chovil's Home Page Recovery is a Process, Not an End by Terry DeRocher on Recovery
Spiritual Forces and How They Affect Recovery  by Andrea Hercha-Schmook Recovery:  A New Word in Serious Mental Illness Faith and Recovery by Andrea Hercha Schmook An American Definition of Independent Living 
What Reovery Means To Us by Shery Mead and Mary Ellen Copeland The Berlin Runaway-House – Three Years of Antipsychiatric Practice People can recover from mental illness by Daniel Fisher, M.D., Ph.D. and Laurie Ahern Mental Health Recovery Links at the Recovery Directory
Mental Health Recovery Articles from Mary Ellen Copeland Clutter Overwhelming You? By
Mike Nelson, Executive Director, Clutterless Recovery Groups Inc.		 Relaxation and Stress Reduction from Mary Ellen Copeland's Newsletter. RECOVERY:  How Do You Get Yourself Going? by Andrea Hercha-Schmook
Other Consumer Articles Understanding What Useful Help Looks Like: The Standards of Peer Support, by Cheryl MacNeil, Ph.D. and Shery Mead, M.S.W.

Recovery Activities 

Consumer Employment Advanced Directive Listserv (e-mail List) Laughter is the Best Medicine
organicMD.org is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to non-pharmaceutical commonsense health education. This website was written and created by physician-poet Hugh Mann, who was inspired by his personal odyssey and thirty years of medical practice. Shery Mead Consulting: Peer Support and peer run crisis alternatives in mental health.
Wellness Tool-Organizing or Reorganizing by Mary Ellen Copeland
Housing Food Compeer Cat Therapy by Harold Bartko Spirituality by Les Mitchell
Using Music in Therapy: The Power of Music as a Coping Skill Exercise: The Best Anti-Depressant by Mary Ellen Copeland Using the Arts to Recover Mental Health by Gayle Bluebird  Music as an Aid to Recovery by Harold Bartko
Hiking, Biking, Camping and Skiing, Swimming, and Seasonal Activities Action Planning for Prevention and Recovery: A Self-Help Guide

We are actively seeking more recovery material.    Please e-mail us at jim@psychrights.org with any questions, comments or suggestions.

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DISCLAIMER

The information here is offered as peer support only.  We assume no liability whatsoever for any consequences arising out your use of such information.  By accessing such information you waive any and all right to any claims that might arise therefrom.

last modified 5/31/2009