No Expectation of Recovery in Public Mental Health

[Excerpt from King County Ordinance 13974] – emphasis in red added]

Promoting recovery has become the rallying point for the consumer and family movement (1999 Mental Health Report from the Surgeon General). Throughout 1999 the public debate about mental health issues raised expectations about the recovery model as mentioned by providers, clients, advocates and citizens.

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The county’s present mental health system operates primarily as a safety net for its clients. While that is an improvement over the system that existed thirty years ago, the safety net all too often tends to keep clients in a state of dependency with minimal expectations that the clients will get well.

As the mental health system implements the integration of the inpatient and outpatient system in 2001, recovery is expected to be a key theme in individual treatment planning. Successful caregivers recognize that a client will get well more easily or lead a more productive life when there is a high expectation that as a result of treatment, the quality of life of the client will improve. Specifically, the division should contract with caregivers to develop an atmosphere of treatment in which the interaction between the caregiver and the client focuses on the importance of a progression toward recovery and wellness.