A MENTAL health service is championing an alternative approach to aid long term recovery centred on greater self-awareness.

It is not, as Simon Cox, practice excellence advisor at Genesis Housing Association says, a question of re-inventing the wheel.

However, it is a shift in focus which could have a significant impact not only in outcome but in attitudes.

To go back to the beginning, most mental health services are largely underpinned by recovery models hinged on making sure a person can stay in control of their life despite the challenges.

The end goal is for them to regain a meaningful life.

But at Colchester’s Jackson House, which accommodates 20 adults with varying mental health needs, a pilot has been launched to deviate from the traditional models of recovery to one of discovery.

In academic circles this is known as consumer-based recovery.

The first step is a steering group with Jackson House customers who will be instrumental in shaping its services moving forward.

Mr Cox said: “The idea is to shift from a singular focus on recovering a life one had to a holistic effort.

“It’s about identifying what was important from that life and shaping it into something which will meet one’s long-term mental health needs as well as setting a path for individuals to realise their ambitions and emotional desires.

“Everyone needs to look at their mental health and that process is the same for us all.

“Our message is there’s no difference between us as staff to you as customers, so we’re bringing about parity to assist make all of those changes happen.”

But in trying to recover from any mental illness, individuals must set about discovering the root cause which creates a degree of crossover between the two models.

However, Mr Cox is focused on growing critical opinion which suggests the experienced cyclical nature of recovery too often results in repeated needs for interventions from medical services.

He said: “It doesn’t sufficiently focus on the changes people may need to make to meet their goals.

“It’s not simply a remission of symptoms allowing for the return of a life one had before but rather something bigger.

“Consumer-based recovery allows and necessitates exploration of what needs to be changed to become one’s best self.”

Inspiration for the pilot came after Mr Cox heard mental health campaigner Paul Scates speak in Dorset.

Mr Scates survived sexual abuse as a teenager and also has bipolar disorder.

During the talk he attributed some of his earlier relapses to the problematic way in which services were set up in his home county.

Mr Cox said: “He was a musician surrounded by drugs and alcohol so when his time with therapeutic services came to an end, he returned to that life.

“What eventually began to work for him was he switched to discovering what it was about that lifestyle he enjoyed and turning it into something more positive.”

The point of the pilot though is not to reinvent the wheel, Mr Cox simply wants to stop recovery ideologies from becoming stale.

Contemporary research into consumer-based recovery features ten key areas of note or “pillars” as Simon calls them.

They mention discovery being provoked by hope, self-direction and peer-support, it being holistic and strengths-based, and for people to be prepared to follow a non-linear path.

He said: “Since launching the pilot in November, already there is a sense of ownership of the space which is important.

“Our resource area has been redesigned and because our customers now own it so-to-speak, they’re running their own workshops and also there is Kindness Rocks.

“A member of the steering group had heard of Colchester’s recent engagement with the project and so we joined in, painting not only messages of hope but also personal experiences with the aim to educate and improve understanding of mental health in a more positive and respectful way.”

One of the first activities for the steering group were focus groups and questionnaires to discuss how they relate to the service.

Mr Cox said: “When we discussed respect, for instance, themes repeatedly emerged about how everyone felt respected in their homes, by our staff and in communal areas of the service.

“However, there were repeated examples given where this respect wasn’t guaranteed when out and about in the wider community and it triggered their anxiety.

“One really poignant example is, when one of our customers takes anxiety medication it slows him down so it takes longer to count out money at the supermarket.

"But behind him he can feel the queue building up and the tutting and increased annoyance.”

“As part of becoming a place of discovery, we’ve charged ourselves with proactively seeking to eliminate discrimination and stigma.”

If you come across a brightly-coloured rock, turn it over as it will display the details of Jackson House.

Advertising the home so boldly has historically been something the organisation has shied away from in fear of backlash.

But today is a new day.

Mr Cox added: “It was wrong. As a mental health service we should be advocates and providing a loud voice for our customers.

“By doing this we’re very pointedly saying, we’re not ashamed of who we are.”

Jackson House is directly commissioned by Essex County Council.

Referrals are made via the North Essex Partnership Health Joint Referral Panel. Click here for more information.