Do our current approaches to care planning and the CPA enhance the experience and outcomes of a person's recovery?

Abstract

Purpose

Increasingly mental health services are attempting to become recovery focused which demands changing the nature of day-to-day interactions and the quality of the experience in services. Care planning is the daily work of mental health services and within this context, care planning that enhances both the experience and the outcomes of a person's recovery is a key element for effective services. However, care plans, the care planning process and the Care Programme Approach (CPA) continue to pose a challenge for services. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Conceptual paper.

Findings

Within recovery focused services a care plan becomes the driving force, or action plan, behind a person's recovery journey and is focused on their individual needs, strengths, aspirations and personal goals. If involving people directly in the development of their care plan is critical to creating better outcomes then supporting self-management, shared decision making and coproduction all underpin the care planning process. Based on the evidence of people's experience of care plans and the care planning process it is time to seriously debate our current conceptualisation and approach to care planning and the future of the CPA.

Originality/value

The paper describes aspects of the current situation with regard to the effectiveness of care planning in supporting a person's recovery. The paper raises some important questions.

Citation

Rinaldi, M. and Watkeys, F. (2014), "Do our current approaches to care planning and the CPA enhance the experience and outcomes of a person's recovery?", The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 26-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-05-2013-0021