A recovery perspective on community day leaves

Pages109-118
Published date10 May 2013
Date10 May 2013
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/14636641311322296
AuthorAlisha Walker,Louise Farnworth,Shelley Lapinksi
Subject MatterHealth & social care,Public policy & environmental management,Sociology
A recovery perspective on community day
leaves
Alisha Walker, Louise Farnworth and Shelley Lapinksi
Abstract
Purpose – Community day leaves are one aspect of the rehabilitation offered at a secure forensic
mental health facility in Australia. This study aimed to investigate staff and patients’ understanding of
community day leaves and how recovery principles were embedded.
Design/methodology /approach Ten escorted community day leaves were ob served and
21 semi-structured interviews with staff and patients were conducted. Using an ethnographic
research approach, thematic analysis guided by a comparative method was used to reveal the
similarities and differences between staff and patient perspectives of escorted leaves and how
principles of recovery were practiced.
Findings – Although staff and patients expressed their understanding differently, they had a similar
overall understanding of the function of community day leaves, that being, to successfully reintegrate
and practice daily living skills. Recovery principles practiced included developing a sense of
connectedness to others, power over their own lives, the roles they value, and therefore, hope for
themselves. However, how these were facilitated by staff and practiced by patients, varied.
Practical implications Community day leaves can have the potential therapeutic benefits of
enhancing or hindering recovery due to the staff member’s facilitation. This study revealed how
important it is for staff members to utilise recovery principles to enhance rehabilitation goals and
therapeutic benefits.
Originality/value – This study has identified that community day leaves need to be shaped by recovery
principles, leading towards successful community integration and goals and objectives need to be
agreed upon by both staff and patients.
Keywords Recovery, Community day leaves, Rehabilitation, Forensic psychiatry, Secure hospital,
Psychiatry, Hospitals
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In Australia, as in other countries, governments have been adopting principles and priority
themes forpsychiatric services thatinclude a recovery orientation(Australian Health Ministers,
2003). The premise of the recovery model is to engender hope and self-determination for
mental health consumers (Corrigan, 2006). Rehabilitation using recovery principles allows
peopleto reclaim a sense of self: theirconnectedness to others,power over their own lives,roles
they value, and therefore, hope for themselves (Anthony, 1993). Farkas (2007) suggests it
involves movingbeyond simple maintenance, or preventionof relapse, to a philosophy where
the ultimategoal is to facilitate successand satisfaction in a specific valuedrole chosen by the
individual. Furthermore, the majority of people with psychiatric disabilities have the same
life aspirationsas people without disability.That is, they mostly desire to lead an independent
life participatingin the community with full rights (Rossler, 2006).
Services providing psychiatric services need to address whether its practices support the
people using the services to pursue their own recovery. It is important to know whether there
are elements of services that intentionally or inadvertently get in the way of upholding hope,
DOI 10.1108/14636641311322296 VOL. 15 NO. 2 2013, pp. 109-118, QEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2050-8794
j
JOURNAL OF FORENSIC PRACTICE
j
PAGE 109
Alisha Walker completed
this study as a student at
Monash University,
Frankston, Australia.
Louise Farnworth is Head of
Department of
Occupational Therapy at
Department of
Occupational Therapy,
Monash University,
Frankston, Australia.
Shelley Lapinksi is
Occupational Therapist at
Forensicare, Victorian
Institute of Forensic
Services, Fairfield,
Australia.

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