Recovery Capital Tool Your Personal Recovery Journey. Produced by WDP, Great Expectations & Genesis Housing Association residents
2 Recovery Recovery: what does it all mean? Recovery doesn t mean returning to the way you were before you became ill; it is an ongoing process where you work in collaboration with professionals or peers towards a meaningful and satisfying life of your choosing. What is important is that you are able to gain an active control of your life, through the support of appropriate services, negotiating decisions about the best ways of meeting your medical, social and personal needs. It s your life; this is a way of regaining a voice. Recovery Capital: Support networks and resources. Recovery capital is just a way of describing the useful social, personal and community resources that you have access to every day. A good exercise is to write down all positive elements in our lives; things that could be helpful now or in the future.
3 The Recovery Model has elements of the recovery journey. Hope To set yourself on the road to recovery you need to discover hope. This may arrive at a specific turning point in your life or develop gradually over time. It creates an enduring belief in yourself and your ability to lead a fulfilling and meaningful life despite inevitable setbacks and disappointments. Hope gives you the platform to develop trust in yourself and others and gives you a reason not to avoid situations that may expose you to feelings of failure and disappointment; there is always the hope that things will turn out better than you thought! Secure Base Everyone needs to feel safe and secure before they can build on their hopes and dreams for a better future. This secure base is achieved by having access to suitable accommodation and healthcare, enough money to live on, and freedom from violence and fear of violence. It is a vision that should be realized through meaningful collaboration between you and relevant professionals. Self Enduring serious health issues can take away your sense of self. You may need to regulate who you associate with and the way in which you associate with various individuals and situations, so that you allow yourself enough psychological space to better interpret influences on your behaviour. Once you have re-discovered your sense of who you are it may be easier to determine which are the positive and which are the negative influences on your life. Supportive relationships Recovery requires the support of others who believe that you have the potential to recover. These supportive relationships may be with friends, family, the wider community, or with health professionals. Some of the most valuable relationships are those with peers who have been through similar experiences and are in the process of recovering themselves. Here the helping process is reciprocal, building mutual support networks and self-esteem. Empowerment and Inclusion One of the most important components of the recovery journey is regaining control over your life and finding a voice. This is sometimes called empowerment. You may need help and support to overcome stigma and isolation surrounding your illness, so that you can gradually develop the confidence to make your own, carefully considered decisions. This may mean learning an element of self-control, practicing social skills and taking up training opportunities to improve employment prospects for example.
4 Coping strategies On your recovery journey you may experience some of the following emotions: You will need to develop personal coping strategies to help you on the way. You can get professional help with this. Interventions can be clinical, for example medication or psychotherapy, as long as you are able to have a say in the way the treatment is delivered and are fully aware of the advantages and disadvantages of the treatment strategies. Part of the process of gaining your own coping mechanisms is learning to identify personal stress and crisis points, developing ways of positively responding to these situations. You can learn to cope with life s traumas and solve problems in a less risky way. Be aware that this may involve facing up to many of the feelings in the box opposite and a realisation that you cannot change past events, such as lost opportunities and historical trauma. Meaning Relief Anxiety Elation Fear of Recurrence Exhaustion Powerful Sad Insomnia Tearful Getting back to earth What was that all about? Why me? Was it my fault? In order to keep on track in your journey of recovery, you will need to identify with the process. It needs to mean something positive and significant to you; the journey needs to be taking you somewhere you want to be! This is sometimes known as developing your own narrative. It may be a goal of getting a job, learning something new, finding your own worthwhile place in society. You may discover, or rediscover, significant social values, such as religion, politics, or a guiding philosophy or culture. The important thing is that it gives meaning to all the hard work that you are putting into the recovery process.
5 Personal Recovery Resources Mapping People Who or what can help me on my recovery journey? Be specific and name friends, family, peers, professionals and groups Resources What can people I have named do with me or for me? Be specific as it can help when mapping out resources Goals What is my goal? What can I do to achieve it with my tools from People and Resources Family Partner
6 Workplace Friends Non-Using Friends Mutual Aid/Peer Support (People who have been through a similar experience, who can listen and offer advice)
7 Sense of Community (Do you feel you belong to a community: a group of people with a shared interest or circumstance?) Name them Community Activity (Do you take part in or organise any activities that create a sense of community?) Name them Sense of Belonging (Do you feel that you belong or do you feel a sense of isolation?) Name what you belong to
8 Social Activities (What social activities do you enjoy? These are occasions when you are interacting with other people) Name them Leisure & Recreation (What do you do with your free time? Have you got any hobbies/pastimes? This can be things you do on your own or with others) Name them Skills (Make a list of the skills you possess: these may be practical, social or academic. Being good at listening is just as much a skill as being a plumber) Name them
9 Education (List all your educational achievements to date. This can include academic schooling and vocational training. Remember to include any courses you have been on since leaving school) Be specific don t leave anything out Access to Education and Training: Name the Provider Have you got access to education and training resources? Name the resources What are you currently learning? List them Employment: Are you employed at present? Who with Do you want to find employment? If yes what do you want to do
10 Are you working more or less hours than you want to be? If you are employed are you happy in your job? If yes why what makes it good Do you know where to go to find useful employment advice? If yes list them Are you getting the support you need to continue to work/ find suitable work? If yes list them Financial Health: What sources of income do you have? List them
11 What do you have to pay for out of this income? List your outgoings Have you enough money to pay essential bills? (i.e. rent/mortgage, food, household utilities, loans, rent/loan arrears) Do you have enough money left over for any leisure activities? How can you better organise your finances to improve your financial health?
12 Housing/ Shelter: Are you living in secure housing at present? Name the provider and what s good about them If you are homeless/ living in vulnerable housing (ie sleeping on a friend s floor/ living in bedsit etc.) do you know where to go for help to get into more permanent, secure accommodation? What is the name of your local council? Are you registered on the housing list? Physical & Mental Health: How would you rate your physical health? On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = poor 10 = excellent) How would you rate your mental health? On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = poor 10 = excellent) Would you categorise yourself/ have you been categorised as having physical and/or mental disabilities. If yes what be honest
13 How can you improve your physical health? Who can help you? List ways to improve How can you improve your mental health? Who can help you? List ways to improve Emotional Health (This is a kind of sliding scale of how good/bad you are feeling about yourself at the moment) On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = bad 10 = good) Are you feeling positive/ negative/ indifferent about life in general at the moment?
14 Positive Attitude (Do you have the ability at the moment to bounce back from life s setbacks and problems?) Goals & Aspirations (What are your aims at the moment? These can be anything from cutting down on alcohol consumption to taking part in a group discussion to getting a job. They can be big or small goals; no goal is trivial)
15 Sense of Self: Have you got a sense of who you are and where you are going in life? Who can help to make more sense of it all? Coping Strategies: What coping strategies do you use when faced with life s problems? List them What other tactics could you use that would be less risky? List them Who can help you identify and learn new, helpful coping strategies? List the people
16 Religion (Do you have any religious beliefs? Can you use these beliefs to give you a sense of belonging etc.?) What s positive about my faith and who are my spiritual mentors Notes/ Contact Names and Numbers/etc.
17 My Personal Recovery Journey Remember to keep your goals achievable and meaningful. There is no timelimit set to achieve these goals, but it will be helpful to periodically review progress for instance every month and assess any barriers in your way that have occurred. 1.
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19 When do I want to review my goals? (Circle as appropriate. It would be helpful to write down an approximate date as well). 1 Month 2 Months 3 Months Longer (state time span) NOTES: (Achievements, thoughts, feelings, problems, etc)