The Theory of Recovery Psychology/Preface pt3

Preface Part3

• In the past textbooks regarding psychiatric conditions have spouted Gestalt psychology, Freudian psychology, Existential psychology, Lobotomy and other theory or practices which are not conducive to the premise of recovery, which indoctrinate a more stigmatizing view of what a person with psychiatric condition experiences. Such that should not be tolerated by psychiatric rehabilitation practitioners, advocates, and consumers alike who consciously oppose discrimination and stigma; exemplify the problems associated with psychiatric conditions; while giving little or no focus on solutions for persons with mental illness demonstrates that persons with psychiatric conditions are abnormal, or defective; instead incorporating that such persons are human, eventually it is time again for persons with psychiatric conditions to reaffirm the adage nothing about us without us.
• I like to say that I see a pink elephant in this so-called recovery movement, every time I read about what person with a M.S.W. or a Ph.D. is claiming to be promoting recovery. I watched a video of Pat Deegan as a key note speaker at a conference. She read her well written essay "What will endure?" In this great essay of hers, she discusses the idea of what will people in the future will think of the current recovery movement; she asks the rhetorical question: "...in the future what will they think of us now for believing ourselves to be humane, understanding and enlightened?" I think they will say of this present recovery movement "Where was your mass audience!!?"
• It is this authors notion that promoting self-direction, self-efficacy for consumers, eliminating stigma and discrimination, empowering the consumer, offering the consumer an opportunity to explore their own meaning in life, assisting consumers in their developing a personally satisfactory role in the community and facilitating the recovery process for consumers would occur more easily if the concept of "recovery" was taught at the local community college. I was first inspired to write a textbook when trying to reconcile the stuff taught in training at work, with my studies in school. *I have been speaking about these ideas since I my hire date at a behavioral health agency, to a great many person...the responses have been an almost a negative understanding of what I am talking about to flat out a declaration that I am grandiose... The need to change these scholarly curriculums is apparent from my view as a student. The need for a psychiatric rehabilitation to assist persons with psychiatric disability has been well documented. In the U.S. self-help, family members, advocacy groups, NIMH, the Rehabilitation Services Administration, and many state agencies, however psychiatric rehabilitation continues to be of little interest to university educators of mental health professionals.

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