TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH RECOVERY
Please read some reviews from patients and colleagues.
Years ago, I worked for a not-for-profit enterprise which provided an opportunity for employment and training for many employees who were affected by mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. As the operations manager, I worked closely with these employees and I observed that their personal growth, confidence and mental well-being were linked to a sense of community, learning new skills, and improving social abilities. This made me wonder where medications fit into this landscape. Years later I was introduced to the Recovery Protocol Breakthrough which helped me to better understand the role of medication in mental health.
I now appreciate the importance of focusing on the individual first. Working to build confidence and capacity as individuals will enable them to live productive lives and contribute to society. The Recovery Protocol Breakthrough Program appears to complement medications, completing the picture. I highly recommend these readings to anyone affected by chronic mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, as well as the practitioners who support them.
-Peter Khan, B.Sc., B.A.Sc., M.B.A., P.Eng.
The Recovery Breakthrough Protocol allows us to see a central paradox of the psychiatric system: that focusing on medication as the primary means of recovery from mental illness can have the effect of worsening the reach of the illness, particularly when medications are not working. But more importantly, it offers a concrete framework for alternative path forward.
It invites us to look at illness as only one part of a person’s life, and to shift our gaze with great intention to the many things that an individual does to respond, survive, and thrive despite or perhaps because of the illness that they live with.
As a therapist, I would describe this tool as innovative, practical, and accessible. It provides a concrete pathway for both service providers and clients to engage in unique conversations that elevate a person’s agency, skills, strengths and actions in responding to the struggles associated with the illness. It demystifies the hold of the illness, by gently and artfully shining lights on what a person is already doing to resist the effects of the illness.
As therapists we are not immune to the discourses of illness-focused living, and it can be easy to unwittingly engage in conversations with clients that reinforce that the ideas that illness has the most control and solutions are primarily pharmaceutical.
The Recovery Breakthrough Protocol is a refreshing and practical reminder that often, if we look carefully enough, we can see there is much more to the picture than we think, and wellness is within reach.
Ali Burke MSW, RSW
www.oakwoodcounselling.ca
“We are all in this together.”
-The Recovery Specialist
Terms of Use: This program is for consumers with medication failure. No fees are required. Permission is granted to print materials from this site without prior consent from the site administrator. The consumer can port this protocol and introduce it to their non-clinical or clinical provider. The objective is to put into play this protocol to kick-start a recovery since medications are offering poor treatment returns, which is impacting a person’s quality of life and functioning from a recovery perspective.
Disclaimer: The information provided on this site does not constitute medical advice or treatment. The information acts only as a guide to consider the elements for making recovery possible and how to institute such a program of practice within the Meeting Room space of one’s service provider.