Guiding Principles for Resilience and Recovery 

Here at the New England MHTTC, we celebrate and support recovery from mental health challenges year-round. This year during Recovery Month, we are pausing to remind ourselves of the recovery principles to which we are committed. Incorporating these principles into our day-to-day work allows us to promote resilience and recovery among ourselves and those at risk for, living with, and recovering from mental health challenges. We ask you to join us in reviewing these principles and considering how you can incorporate and build on them in your programs, services, and systems. 

Resilience and recovery: 

• Emerge from hope. We know people can and do recover. 
• Are based on respect. We respect people facing mental health challenges, and we respect their rights. 
• Are culturally based and influenced. We build on the values, traditions, preferences, beliefs, culture, and identities of the children, youth, adults, families, and communities we support. 
• Supported and enhanced through advocacy for social justice. We work to dismantle systemic racism and stigma so that all services and supports ensure equitable treatment of people from diverse backgrounds who have been historically and systemically marginalized. 
• Are family and person driven. We believe in the value and necessity of the participation, perspectives, and shared decision-making of the people we are working with. 
• Occur via many pathways. We affirm that the preferred pathways of the people we work with are distinct and highly individualized. 
• Are holistic. We value the integration of prevention, treatment, harm reduction, crisis intervention, self-care practices, family support, housing, education, employment, clinical care, community-based services and recovery supports, natural supports, primary health and dental care, transportation, faith, spirituality, complementary and alternative services, social networks, and community participation. 
• Community-based and promoted through collaboration. We work in partnership with the people we support and collaborate with those they choose to involve in their recovery journey.  
• Supported by peers and allies. We include mutual support and aid groups, peer support, and advocacy organizations. 
• Supported through relationships, social networks, and collective action. We value the presence and involvement of people who believe in the person and family’s abilities to face and overcome their difficulties, grow, and recover. 
• Supported by addressing trauma. We know that all services, supports, and care should be trauma-informed. 
• Involve individual, family, and community strengths and responsibility. We identify, build on, and enhance the capabilities, knowledge, skills, and assets of the people we support.  

You can find more information about these principles and many more resources and products on our website. We regularly offer free training and educational opportunities and hope you and your colleagues will join us for upcoming events.