The use of social environment in a psychosocial clubhouse to facilitate recovery-oriented practice

Background Recovery-oriented language has been widely adopted in mental health policy; however, little is known about how recovery practices are implemented within individual services, such as psychosocial clubhouses. Aims To explore how recovery practices are implemented in a psychosocial clubhouse. Method Qualitative case study design informed by self-determination theory was utilised. This included 120 h of participant observation, interviews with 12 clubhouse members and 6 staff members. Field notes and interview transcripts were subject to theoretical thematic analysis. Results Two overarching themes were identified, each comprising three sub-themes. In this paper, the overarching theme of social environment is discussed. It was characterised by the sub-themes, community and consistency , participation and opportunity and respect and autonomy . Conclusions Social environment was used to facilitate recovery-oriented practice within the clubhouse. Whether recovery is experienced by clubhouse members in wider society, may well depend on supports and opportunities outside the clubhouse.