Facilitators and obstacles in recovery: Converging perspectives of professionals and users

For decades, mental health research has been predominantly guided by professionals, often overlooking the voices of users. In contemporary practice, the first-person approach is essential in understanding recovery and enhancing services. Recovery-oriented practices emphasize the significance of user participation in their own recovery process, utilizing available facilitators and confronting obstacles. This study aims to identify the convergences between the perspectives of professionals and users regarding facilitators and barriers in the recovery process.

This study was structured based on two prior e-Delphi studies, involving 101 users and 78 professionals. In the first round, participants were asked two open-ended questions about the facilitators and barriers of the recovery process. The research team formulated statements derived from the qualitative analysis of their responses. In the second round, participants rated the relevance of each statement using a Likert-type scale. In the third round, reassessment was requested for statements that did not meet the cut-off point for agreement. The statements that reached a consensus among professionals, and those among users, were compared and matched.

In total, 18 statements describing facilitators and 22 statements describing barriers were analysed. The study found a convergence in 31.3% of the facilitator statements and 45.5% of the barrier statements. This convergence between the perspectives of professionals and users underscores the importance of support, financial security, and a holistic approach to treatment. It also highlights the potential negative impacts of stigma, self-stigma, coercion, and social exclusion. The results contribute to the discussion on the necessity of integrating the first-person perspective in mental health, aiming to reach new research frontiers through the enrichment of this integration.