Recovery, non-profit organisations and mental health services: ‘Hit and miss’ or ‘dump and run’?

Background: The evolution of Recovery-oriented mental health services in Western nations across the globe has given rise to a growth in community-based psychosocial support services, to assist in meeting the diverse needs of consumers. This article reports findings of research that explored the perceptions of community workers who are employed by non-profit organisations and deliver psychosocial support services to support delivery of Recovery-oriented clinical mental health services. Aims: The focus of the research reported in this article includes the benefits and challenges encountered by the community workers when working with clinicians. Method: The research was undertaken as part of a single-case embedded study, which evaluated the implementation of Recovery-oriented approaches to the delivery of clinical mental health services in a major urban centre located in south-eastern Australia. Results: Generally, community workers employed by the non-profit organisations perceived the implementation of Recovery-oriented clinical mental health services to be a positive step forward for consumers. Challenges to the delivery of Recovery-oriented services included issues arising from the many different understandings of what it means to experience mental health Recovery, the quality of communication between the community workers and clinicians and the clinicians’ lack of understanding of the role of non-profit organisations and community workers. Conclusion: The article concludes with recommendations to address the challenges involved, with a view to improving the partnerships between community workers and clinicians, and the Recovery journey of people with serious mental illness.