Recovery in mental health is a self-determined and holistic journey that people undertake to heal and grow. Recovery is facilitated by relationships and environments that provide hope, empowerment, choices and opportunities that allow people to reach their full potential as contributing community members. Recovery is a vision of hope that includes no limits.

Self-Direction - consumers lead, control, exercise choice over, and determine their own path of recovery by maximizing autonomy, self-agency and independence.

Responsibility - consumers have personal responsibility for their own self-care and journeys of recovery. This involves taking steps towards one's goals that may require great courage.

Individualized & Person-Centered - there are multiple pathways to recovery based, on the individual person's unique needs, preferences, and experiences - including past trauma and cultural backgrounds in all of its diverse representations. Individuals also identify recovery as being an on-going journey, an end result, as well as an overall paradigm for achieving optimal mental health.

Strengths-Based - recovery focuses on valuing and building on the multiple strengths, resiliency, coping abilities, inherent worth, and capabilities of individuals.

Respect - community, systems, and societal acceptance and appreciation of consumers, including the protection of consumer rights and the elimination of discrimination and stigma, are crucial in achieving recovery. Self-acceptance and regaining one's belief in one's self is also vital, as is respect for others.

Peer Support - the invaluable role of mutual support wherein consumers encourage other consumers in recovery while providing a sense of belongingness, supportive relationships, valued roles and community is recognized and promoted.

Non-linear - recovery is not a step-by-step process, but one based on continual growth, occasional setbacks, and learning from these experiences.

Holistic - recovery encompasses the varied aspects of an individual's life, including mind, body, spirit, and community, including such factors as housing, employment, education, mental health and health care services, complementary and naturalistic services, addictions treatment, spirituality, creativity, social networks, community participants, and family supports as determined by the person.

Empowerment - consumers have the authority to exercise choices and make decisions that impact their lives and are educated and supported in so doing.

Hope - recovery provides the essential and motivating message that people can and do overcome the barriers and obstacles that confront them.