Community-Based Recreation Therapy and Mental Health Recovery: A Mixed-Media Participatory Action Research Study.

Background: Personal recovery is an individualized process through which people develop a positive identity and live a meaningful life, with symptoms of mental illness. Few studies have explored the role of recreation therapy in the recovery process from the perspectives of individuals with lived experience of mental illness.

Objectives: To understand how community-based recreation therapy can support mental health recovery, from the perspectives of people diagnosed with mental illness, and to guide the development, delivery and evaluation of recovery-oriented mental health services.