Recovery-Promoting Professional Competencies: Perspectives of Mental Health Consumers, Consumer-Providers and Providers

• Published in: Psychiatric rehabilitation journal 2011, Vol.34 (3), p.177-185
• Main Authors: Russinova, Zlatka, Rogers, E. Sally, Langer Ellison, Marsha, Lyass, Asya
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Attitude of Health Personnel; Attitude to Health; Client Attitudes; Clinical competence; Community Participation - psychology; Consumers; Data Collection - methods; Employment - psychology; Female; Health Personnel Attitudes; Human; Humans; Internet; Male; Mental Disorders - psychology; Mental Disorders - rehabilitation; Mental health care; Mental Health Services; Patients; Power (Psychology); Professional Competence; Psychiatry; Recovery (Disorders); Validation studies
• ISSN: 1095-158X; 1559-3126
• DOI: 10.2975/34.3.2011.177.185

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to empirically validate a set of conceptually derived recovery-promoting competencies from the perspectives of mental health consumers, consumer-providers and providers. Methods: A national sample of 603 consumers, 153 consumer-providers and 239 providers completed an anonymous survey via the Internet. The survey evaluated respondents' perceptions about a set of 37 competencies hypothesized to enhance clients' hope and empowerment and inquired about interactions with providers that enhanced clients' recovery process. We used descriptive statistics and ranking to establish the relevance of each competency and generalized linear models and post-hoc tests to examine differences in the consumers', consumer-providers' and providers' assessments of these competencies. Results: Analyses confirmed the recovery relevance of several competencies and their relative importance within each group of study participants. They also revealed that while most competencies tended to have universal significance, others depended more strongly on the client's preferences. Finally, differences in the perceptions of consumers, consumer-providers and providers about the recovery relevance of these competencies were established. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: The study highlighted the crucial role practitioners play in enhancing recovery from serious mental illnesses through specific strategies and attitudes that acknowledge clients' personhood and foster their hopefulness, empowerment and illness management. It informed the development of a new instrument measuring providers' recovery-promoting competence and provides guidelines for sharpening the recovery focus of a wide range of mental health and rehabilitation services.