2 February 2011

Mental health services will take a step into the future today with the launch of a new nationwide project which puts recovery at the heart of mental health services.

The Supporting Recovery project will use research from the Centre for Mental Health which sets out ten key indicators for organisations to develop to support the recovery of people using mental health services.

It is the result of a partnership between the Centre for Mental Health, the NHS Confederation and the National Mental Health Development Unit a national initiative.

The names of 28 NHS Mental Health organisations in England and 2 independent providers involved as pilots or learning set participants are announced today. Initial evaluation results will be published nationally within 12 months.

Geoff Shepherd, senior policy adviser at Centre for Mental Health, said:

"We are delighted to be able to work with so many mental health service providers to help them to make Recovery a reality for the people they serve. Recovery is a personal journey to build a fulfilling life with or without the symptoms of mental illness. Mental health services have for too long been unable to support people in achieving their personal ambitions by focusing exclusively on the treatment of their clinical conditions.

"Supporting Recovery will help NHS trusts and their partners across the country transform the lives of thousands of people, putting them back in control and able to build lives of which they can be proud."

NMHDU deputy director Jim Symington said:

"I believe that this work will help people to experience good quality mental health care by spreading and extending the best of current practice. Supporting Recovery really shows how people can be helped to manage severe distress or illness and regain an ordinary life. It also supports carers and professionals undertaking demanding roles."

Mental Health Network Director Steve Shrubb said:

"Recovery and recognising that people with even the most severe mental health problems can recover is a crucial part of modern mental health services.

"With a focus on the people's own experiences and expectations, recovery models of care will help cement what we expect to see in the upcoming mental health strategy - a cross government recognition that mental health has equal importance as physical health."

The National Mental Health Development Unit (NMHDU) is the agency charged with supporting the implementation of mental health policy in England by the Department of Health in collaboration with the NHS, Local Authorities and other major stakeholders.