The Theory of Recovery Psychology/About This Text

About This Text Recovery Psychology is designed in college textbook form, and for a good reason. It is a synthesis of knowledge, philosophy and theory. It is based on the reasoning that courses taught in colleges and universities articulate behavior sciences. It is with this thought in mind that in looking at the academic courses at such institutions of higher learning, which cover psychiatric conditions focus only on pathology; there is little mention of recovery. In any behavior science; the word behavior is defined as: anything that a living organism does. So abnormal psychology is the study of abnormal behavior that describes, predicts, and change abnormal patterns of functioning. Abnormal psychology parallels clinical psychology in its study of the nature of psychopathology. The symptoms of psychiatric conditions are in fact behaviors, whether overt physically observable actions or they are covert such as thoughts or emotions; i.e. cognitive behaviors. Abnormal psychology does discuss techniques of changing behavior. Of course, changing behavior does not imply that a person has healed, recovered, been cured, or experienced any form of relief from a condition that warrants iatrogenic intervention. Thus the recovery concept is the central concept of this text. Recovery is a behavior. It can be studied as a behavior science. In the past psychiatric conditions have been studied in courses such as “abnormal psychology” or “deviant behavior.” This text relies on the assertion that it is time for something different in the scientific and academic communities; with regards to psychiatric conditions.

This book unfolds around its definition of recovery psychology and the under studied concept of recovery; (Unit 1) psychiatric rehabilitation and psychiatric treatment (Unit 2) and (Unit 3) the psychiatric conditions that people recover from. Recovery psychology would be defined as: the study of mental processes and behaviors related to the pathology of psychiatric conditions, and the recovery from these conditions. It would encompass and overlap other disciplines and behavior sciences; such as: sociology, social psychology, abnormal psychology, biological psychology, cognitive psychology, humanistic psychology, psychosocial rehabilitation, psychiatric rehabilitation, behavioral psychology, health psychology, positive psychology, substance abuse, developmental disability psychology.

As the concept of recovery psychology is discussed, the proponents of this concept have even considered applying the recovery model to the science of criminology; in that whatever makes a person a criminal or puts the person in to a situation of legal problems can be resolved using these theories and principles. Furthermore, recovering from psychiatric conditions is not the only kind of recovery necessarily addressed in psychology. Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of cognitive psychological processes that influence the body’s immune system through the nervous system; for sometime this branch has been studied in regards of medical conditions and is implemented in recovery therapies at hospitals. Recovery Psychology must of course branch out to cover this. Recovery Psychology is also this philosophy that all persons can recover from any and all ailments; that the possibility does exist; that the biggest threat to a person’s health is the belief that they are doomed and without hope; the likelihood of recovery is lessened by dismal attitudes or pessimistic beliefs and strengthened by optimism. This philosophy is based on implications derived of the results of research in the behavior sciences, by which this text is composed of. Recovery psychology is proposed as something different from Abnormal Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Positive Psychology, Social Work, Psychiatric Rehabilitation, and Behavioral Health Services Tech courses that is typically taught in college. At some agencies that provide psychosocial rehabilitation services, evidence-based practices have been instituted as a common service. Utilizing one these practices there has been a move towards educating persons with psychiatric disabilities. Mary Ellen Copeland’s WRAP for an example is a form of illness management or psychoeducation that teaches Recovery as a subject. Peer support is also an evidence-based practice which prepares a person with a psychiatric condition for an entry level job in the behavioral-mental health work field. Although there may be some overlap between these other subjects and recovery psychology