A Recovery-Oriented Care Approach: Weighing the Pros and Cons of a Newly Built Mental Health Facility

The current study adopted a recovery-oriented care approach by emphasizing patients' perspectives and experiences regarding changes to a newly built mental health facility. The inpatient entrance, or "portal," intended to balance the aims of recovery-oriented care with minimizing risk. A mixed-methods study of the portal's pros and cons was conducted, according to four themes: (a) autonomy versus inconvenience; (b) safety and security versus stigma; (c) unit door versus portal operating costs; and (d) privacy versus community integration. Focus groups engaging with patients (N = 39) indicated that the design effectively supported recovery-oriented care. Patients did not find the portal to be stigmatizing or triggering and valued the safety and privacy it created, and visitors also generally had a positive experience. Survey responses (N = 101) from portal users were also positive about the new design. The study findings suggest that the pros outweighed the cons of the new design. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 54(2), 39-48.].