Hope for recovery – how clinicians may facilitate this in their work

BACKGROUND: The importance of having hope for recovery has been highlighted in numerous qualitative studies of recovery. It is identified as a vital part of this process, and guidelines suggest that service providers should therefore facilitate hope in their clinical work; however, they do not indicate how this guidance can be operationalised. AIMS: To identify the sources of hope for recovery based on the accounts of people with experience of recovery; to ascertain how these accounts show service providers can facilitate such hope in their therapeutic work. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight people with experience of recovering from mental health problems. A grounded theory analysis was undertaken. RESULTS: A model conceptualising the role of hope in recovery was developed with three categories: "influence of others on hope", "personal hope" and "doing recovery". The model indicates a complex interaction between hope and recovery with an important role for social context and interpersonal relationships, including those with clinicians. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health service providers occupy a powerful position in relation to service users' hope, and must carefully consider how they communicate their own hopefulness about clients' recovery. Suggestions are made about facilitating hope for recovery.