The Journal of Social Work Practice proposes that mental health social workers are ideally positioned to “bridge and integrate the disparate but interrelated internal and external worlds of the psychiatric client living in the community. Managing and validating the totality of their experience to establish a radical, collaborative and life sustaining relationship which promotes real and meaningful recovery.” In this formulation, “recovery is considered as an essentially contested concept which must be self-defined and self-directed by the ideographic narratives of those who own and are living with the experience.”
Cameron, D., McGowan, P.; The Mental Health Social Worker as a transitional participant: Actively listening to ‘voices’ and getting into the recovery position. Journal of Social Work Practice: Psychotherapeutic Approaches in Health, Welfare and the Community. Published online Oct. 5, 2012