Social Work and Recovery

Abstract

Recovery is a process whereby individuals or families restore rights, roles and responsibilities lost through illness, disability or other social problems. It requires hope and empowerment, supported by a vision for a different way of being. Recovery is a concept at the heart of social work practice, though the profession is frequently following others in articulating and evidencing good practice (Webber, 2010). Yet, despite the theoretical basis of recovery finding synergy with social work, there is limited research informing social workers on how to intervene effectively and to influence the social factors enabling or impeding recovery (Tew et al., 2012). Social work practice includes people with a wide range of experiences who are engaged in a recovery process. Although the understanding of recovery is unique for individuals, whether it is in the context of mental health issues, situational and natural disasters, domestic violence, child sexual abuse or social isolation in late life, there are common themes which inform the social work response. This Special Issue seeks to describe, define and analyse the experience of recovery to further our understanding of the concept for social work practice in different contexts.

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