The <i>Recovery Model</i> or the modelling of a cover-up?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1921/gpwk.v20i3.709Keywords:
<i>recovery</i>, <i>well-being</i>, <i>work-lessness</i>, <i>worth-lessness</i>, <i>psycho-social</i>, <i>disease</i>, <i>privatisation</i>Abstract
In this article we present a psycho-social, ‘group-ish’ (Bion, 1961) and philosophically Cynical commentary upon contemporary notions of recovery, well-being and positive psychology. These are, at times, being cynically deployed to address profoundly damaging processes of social traumatisation that give rise to certain forms of mental disease, which we describe as ‘being unwell-ness’, and related psycho-social disease which is being linked to low productivity, under- or unemployment and low social status, and that we describe as worklessness and worth-lessness. We state at the outset of the paper that much excellent work is done by statutory, non-statutory and service user led groups and organisations to engage with these problems. However, in our commentary we will suggest how the language and currency of these initiatives are in danger of being hi-jacked and side-tracked by the vested interests of explicit and tacit political and professional agendas of the in group at the expense of those whom we seek to help.