Supporting Mental Health Recovery, Citizenship, and Social Justice

Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) have historically experienced stigma and marginalization. Mental health providers are well positioned to engage in social justice agendas geared at supporting the civil rights of those with SMI, and ultimately helping open doors to the full rights of participation in the community. By engaging and partnering in a mental health recovery and strengths-based orientation, leaders in these settings have the capacity to influence micro-, meso, and macro-systems. This can shed light on mechanisms to build on the strengths, capabilities, and hopes of individuals to live lives of meaning as they so define, with equal access to resources and rights, within communities of their choice. The article articulates an integrated application of these concepts for embracing and utilizing the concepts of mental health recovery, citizenship, and social justice in public mental health. Additionally, specific examples and practical applications are offered within the context of an inpatient setting and a community setting.