Rethinking social inclusion: experiences of persons in recovery from mental illness

This qualitative study examines the relational dimension of social inclusion by exploring the ways in which persons in recovery from mental illness understand and define their relationships with various communities. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 participants who were heterogeneous with respect to gender, psychiatric diagnoses, sexual orientation and gender identity, and living environments. We found competencies for establishing reciprocal social relationships and taking on responsibility as citizens and community members, rendering support for the capabilities approach as a promising schema for understanding social inclusion. We propose a competencies-based framework to facilitate thoughtful, proactive, and meaningful engagement of persons in recovery with communities of their choice.