Bringing Recovery to Practice: Improving Provider Competencies and Promoting Positive Outcomes

The concept of "recovery" in the context of treating mental illness-including serious mental illness-has been recognized as a central guiding principle for the orientation of behavioral health systems, including the delivery of effective treatment and services, and the development of practices, policies, and systems change. As the adoption of recovery-oriented care expands, there is a need to prepare the mental health and addictions workforce with recovery-based clinical skills and practice delivery approaches. In response, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) created an innovative workforce collaborative to increase clinician skills to deliver evidence-based, recovery-oriented treatment, services, and supports. This column describes that collaborative-the Recovery to Practice project.