Recovery and the medical model

The recovery approach is much in vogue, initiated by the user movement and embraced by politicians. Users and politicians have a variety of opinions about how it fits with professional psychiatric practice – some view recovery and professional practice as compatible, others view them as mutually exclusive, naming professional practice the ‘medical model’. This editorial explores the relationship between the medical model and the recovery approach. We argue that both have multiple points of similarity, and that applying the medical model to the recovery approach has the potential to significantly influence psychiatric practice.