Befriending Network Scotland

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Befriending Network (Scotland)

• Susan Gilchrist
• Training officer

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What do we mean by recovery?

• Recover-
• Return to health or consciousness or to a normal
  state or position.
• Recovery-
• The act or instance of recovering the process of
  being recovered
• Oxford Modern English Dictionary

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• What matters in recovery is not whether were
  using services or not using services using
  medications or not using medications. What
  matters in terms of a recovery orientation is,
  are we living the life we want to be living? Are
  we achieving our personal goals? Do we have
  friends? Do we have connections with the
  community? Are we contributing or giving back in
  some way?
• Pat Deegan

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• Recovery is happening when people can live well
  in the presence or absence of their mental
  illness and the many losses that may come in its
  wake, such as isolation, poverty, unemployment,
  and discrimination. Recovery does not always mean
  that people will return to full health or
  retrieve all their losses, but it does mean that
  people can live well in spite of them.
• New Zealand Blueprint for Mental Health Services,
  1998

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• Recovery is a process, not a place. It is about
  recovering what was lost rights, roles,
  responsibilities, decisions, potential and
  support.Recovery involves people having a
  personal vision of the life they want to live,
  seeing and changing patterns, discovering
  symptoms can be managed and doing it, finding new
  ways and reasons, doing more of what works and
  less of what doesnt. Recovery is about
  reclaiming the roles of a healthy person and
  not a sick person. Recovery is about getting
  there.
• Laurie Curtis, 1998

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What we know.

• People can and do recover.
• Recovery is a process or a journey rather than an
  end point.
• Recovery means much more than an absence of
  symptoms.
• Attitudes and values can have a powerful impact.
• Recovery is a common human experience.
• Different things help different people recover.

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Scottish recovery networks definition of
recovery.

• Living well in the presence or absence of
  symptoms and recognising that someone's
  experience of long-term mental health problems
  should not exclude them from striving from a
  satisfying and fulfilling life.

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• For me, recovery is a bit like climbing a
  mountain you need a map and the right equipment
  as well as someone to guide you. There are false
  summits where you think youve reached the top,
  and then you realise that there is further to
  go.
• Trish Burnet

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Demoralising messages.

• I was told at the very beginning in my illness
  that I wouldnt be the same person as I was. So
  in other words, dont expect to recover totally
  back to the person that I used to be. So it was
  like telling me then that you've got no chance.
• SRN Narrative Research Project

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What people say helps them.

• Having hope.
• A belief in change.
• Being ready to lead own recovery self directed
  recovery.
• Triggers and starting points.
• Self management and coping skills development.
• Being optimistic yet realistic.
• Having a chance to contribute or give back.
• Finding meaning and purpose.
• Supportive relationships.
• Becoming engaged and involved (at all levels).
• Supportive and accessible services and
  treatments.
• Patience, creativity etc etc.

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The key elements of recovery.

• There have been numerous attempts to define the
  key elements of recovery, the following list
  whilst not exhaustive, summarises the most
  commonly agreed Key components.
• HOPE
• meaning and purpose.
• A belief in change.
• Control.
• Environment.
• Optimistic yet realistic.
• Creative risk taking.

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using a recovery approach in mental health
befriending/mentoring

• Create and foster hope! Help clients to believe
  that they can recover.
• Focus on your clients positive skills and
  attributes rather than symptoms of illness.
• Help clients have dreams and believe that they
  can reach for and achieve them.
• Help break these big dreams down into things that
  clients can start to work towards now with the
  support of their befriender/mentor.
• Help clients feel that this is their recovery and
  they need to take responsibility for it. Everyone
  has to work for the things that really matter. It
  might be hard some times but it will be worth it.
• Be honest and upfront and encourage your clients
  to be.
• Be stimulating, motivating, challenging, caring
  and supportive.
• Tell clients that befriending/mentoring can be
  about more than getting 1 person.
• Tell them that you and their befriender/mentor
  will be there to support them on their journey.

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what needs to be in place?

• Publicity/leaflets
• Should reflect a belief in recovery and
  should state that this is the way that you
  work with people.
• Interviews and assessments
• Interviews/assessments give projects their
  first chance to talk to clients about what it is
  they want to get from your service. Its an
  opportunity to talk to them about where they
  would like their lives to go. Its a chance for
  us to begin to foster hope and to help clients to
  dare to dream. Time should be taken at this point
  to explore these things with clients.
• Training
• Rather than focussing on diagnostic
  categories, training should focus on working with
  the individual person. Training should include
  information about recovery.
• Boundaries
• When working using a recovery approach, the
  relationship between the volunteer and the client
  is of prime importance. Befrienders/mentors may
  be in a unique position in that they may be the
  only non professional in a clients life. For
  recovery to work best its important that
  relationships be reciprocal and honest, whilst
  still remaining within boundaries. This means
  time must be spent during training to explore
  complex boundary issues.

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• Matching
• This should be a careful well thought out
  and explained process where clients have choices
  in the person they are to be matched with. The
  success of this relationship is fundamental to
  recovery.
• Supervision and support
• Because of the way that we are asking
  befrienders/mentors to work with their
  befriendees/mentees its important that we give
  good and regular supervision support which
  helps them reflect on feelings that may be thrown
  up for them, their relationship, any boundary
  issues and how they are progressing with any
  goals or targets that have been set with their
  client.
• Reviews
• Its important to have regular reviews
  with the befriender/mentor and befriendee/mentee
  together. At these meetings you can help the
  befriendee/mentee reflect on their relationship
  with the befriender/mentor, look back at what
  they hoped to achieve, how thats progressed,
  whats helped or hindered, look at any other
  things need to be in place, is it still something
  they hope to happen, what steps can be taken by
  the next meeting and when it would be helpful to
  meet up and review again. Keep revisiting and
  building on the dream and looking at ways to make
  it happen.
• Recording
• Record all your meetings and send copies
  out to the befriender/mentor and the
  befriendee/mentee.