Abstract

Recovery from a mental disorder can have different meanings and can be defined differently by researchers. We defined recovery from mental disorder as used currently and its characteristics for improving quality of life of individuals with mental disorders and obtaining suggestions regarding nursing practice for them.

We used the method of conceptual analysis by Rodgers and Knafl to examine the use of the term “recovery.” This method focuses on concepts that change in response to time or situation and attempts to elucidate these continually evolving characteristics rather than visualizing concepts as fixed or static phenomena.

We used the database EBSCOhost (Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus). We used Rodgers’ method of concept analysis on data from 50 related studies and extracted characteristic categories on the basis of “attributes” indicating their characteristics/nature, “antecedents” before the concept origin, and “consequences” resulting from the concept. Our concepts were broadly divided at the individual, community, and sociocultural levels, with each level overlapping with one another; there were involutions of attributes, and these processes formed the concepts. The concept of recovery from mental disorder was redefined. We propose its definition as “the nonlinear and multifactorial life journey of affected individuals to reconstruct identity through interpersonal, group, and community activities, helping to promote awareness on mental disorders through periodic context-based sociocultural interactions with the greater society.” The redefined concept of recovery is not limited to personal factors. This could become a fundamental material demonstrating the basis for mental health nursing intervention.