Behind the Rhetoric: Mental Health Recovery in Ontario

Revealing how the concept of recovery has taken the world of mental health by storm, this survey focuses specifically on Ontario’s mental health communities, taking the first critical look at the rhetoric behind the concept. Its approach is from the perspectives of practitioners, survivors, professionals, critics, and supporters. Foucault’s analyses of discourse are utilized, and the study delves into the inherent messages of hope and responsibility, retheorizing within a Canadian context. Exploring the origins of this new vision for mental health and the promise of wellness that is long overdue, this study illustrates what this concept really means for a system that has previously been unbalanced.