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“Recovery is possible for everyone.” This is the mantra I heard from Lyn Legere and Debbie Nicolellis for two inspirational days. “Providers don’t serve consumers, but are partners.” This message allows us, the providers in the audience, to relax. We don’t pro-vide the answers. We only work with clients to choose their own goals, find their own answers. Of course, some of the clinicians were skeptical.
One doctor asked, “What if the client has no goals?”
This dilemma was a challenge to Lyn and Debbie. Lyn, both a consumer and provider, answered, “A person needs to be ready to change. Remember, a person might have been so disappointed from past experiences, that they are afraid to dream!”
She explained to the audience that providers often have to keep hope on behalf of people who can’t risk having hope for themselves yet.
This seminar on psychiatric rehabilitation, run by the NYAPRS (the New York Associa-tion for Psychiatric Rehabilitative Services) collective, focused on belief in recovery. We were told that symptom reduction is no longer a goal. Quality of life is the goal. As someone who has worked under the medical model for decades, this was a breath of fresh air. For the providers who came from clinics, clubhouses, hospitals, and vocational programs, this was a pivotal moment.
We resolved to no longer make choices for consumers, but collaborate with our clients. This is a new world for many providers. The NYAPRS collective showed that this part-nership works.