The Recovery House in Trieste: rational, participants, intervention as the “work”
Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities
ISSN: 0964-1866
Article publication date: 10 December 2018
Abstract
Purpose
Too often people with complex mental health needs do not find their way out of the mental health system or find satisfactory solutions that enable them to live a full life. In 2015 the Mental Health Department (MHD) of Trieste established the Recovery House pilot project to address this concern. The paper aims to Investigate the project.
Design/methodology/approach
The Recovery House was co-created with and for people between 18 and 35 years old with diagnoses of psychosis and other complex mental health conditions. An integral part of the pilot was the organization of the “Recovery Community,” inspired by the Assembly model embraced by Franco Basaglia. The Recovery Community met regularly to both support and learn from the Recovery House and aimed to create a democratic and reflective space where power relationships, self-determination, responsibility and ownership by all the stakeholders, including family members, could be explored together.
Findings
Over a period of 31 months, four groups of people have successfully completed their residency at the Recovery House. In total, 89 percent of people who stayed at the Recovery House did so up to six months. After the period of staying at the Recovery House most of them moved to independent living or shared supported accommodation.
Originality/value
This initiative sheds light on the fact that democratic values, approaches and structures can improve both service functioning and the recovery outcomes for people with complex health needs. Further, the Recovery House has had a significant effect on the culture and practice of the MHD in adopting a comprehensive approach to emotional distress.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors declare to have proceeded for this study in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration statements. Potential conflict’s of interests disclosure: the IMHCN consultants have been hired by the MHD of Trieste to establish and develop the experience of the Recovery House for the whole length of the period. Ethical issues: the Recovery House evaluation was approved by the Ethical Committee of the Institute of Cognitive Science and Technology of the National Research Council.
Citation
Casadio, R., Marin, I.C., Thomé, T., Mezzina, R., Baker, P., Jenkins, J., Pérez, P.M. and Pocobello, R. (2018), "The Recovery House in Trieste: rational, participants, intervention as the “work”", Therapeutic Communities: The International Journal of Therapeutic Communities, Vol. 39 No. 4, pp. 149-161. https://doi.org/10.1108/TC-01-2018-0003
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited