Leadership and mental health recovery: Rhetoric or reality

Recovery is a deeply personal process, whereby individuals adapt positively to the challenges they face to develop self-agency, self-care and independence (Slade et al., 2012a; Slade, et al., 2012b). Recovery-oriented mental health services foster hope, are primarily strengths based, and move beyond only focussing on clinical recovery or the absence of symptoms to support personal recovery. A recovery-oriented service is responsive and not risk averse in enabling independence, as it works with an individual towards them finding independence and a meaningful and inclusive life in the community (Slade, 2009).