Acceptance and Change: The Dialectic of Recovery.

Abstract

While a good deal of research has been conducted on the factors associated with recovery, we still need a clearer understanding of the dialectic between behavior and attitude. This research uses semi-structured interviews with two groups of mental health consumers, one receiving more intensive ACT services and the other receiving less intensive case management services, to ascertain the illness management strategies used by those who have been transferred to less intensive services. Our research suggests that while engaging in community, vocational, and church activities are important, those who are further along the road to recovery have gained an understanding and acceptance of their illness that allow them to use these activities as effective illness management strategies.