Understanding the Whole Person: A Summary
This is the executive summary of the first in a series of literature reviews on severe and multiple disadvantage. The review looks at the common concepts for recovery and desistance across the fields of mental health, substance misuse, and criminology.
Because many people experience multiple and complex needs, it is important to understand the cross-cutting and distinct themes across the journeys of recovery.
The summary draws out a number of themes – both common and distinctive – as well as two key policy implications. Common themes include the journeys being about the reality of people’s lives, not top-down interventions or treatments, and being inherently hopeful, looking to the future. Success is associated with developing a strong, positive identity, and healthy relationships are crucial.
Distinctive themes in mental health include a focus on recovery from institutions and being a patient, and the need for socially inclusive policies and adaptations. The other two domains focus more on processes of behaviour and motivational change in a social context. Some of the variation of themes is due to the particular research methods used by each domain.
The review highlights two key policy implications:
- Support and services must be continuous and flexible, allowing people to fail, try again, and re-engage. Professionals cannot deliver recovery or desistance – they can only support it.
- When individuals find roles that are meaningful to them – for example, service user involvement – this can support their journeys.
- Tackling stigma, exclusion and social isolation is a big part of supporting recovery and desistance.
