Welcome to Recovery to Practice

Since being identified as the most important aim of behavioral health services by both the 1999 Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health and the 2003 President's New Freedom Commission, the notion of recovery has rapidly and broadly permeated the American behavioral health system.

Recovery should not be mistaken for a passing fad. Indeed, its roots stretch to the birth of psychiatry in the 18th century. As its reintroduction is intended to bring about a fundamental transformation of behavioral health care—in the phrase of the 2005 Federal Action Agenda, "a revolution in care"—recovery also should not become simply a new word to be used in describing current practices.

But what, then, is "recovery" in relation to behavioral illness? And what implications does recovery have for transforming behavioral health practice to become "recovery oriented"?

This Web site and the Resources for the Mental and Behavioral Health Professionals it represents are devoted to answering these two key questions that will guide behavioral health policy and practice for the foreseeable future. As part of a Federal initiative to move the concept of recovery from policy and vision statements into practice, we offer a range of resources for mental health professionals who are engaged in the transformation process.

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