Recovery Dialogues are tools that are usually used in or with groups of people. The Recovery Dialogues can be used to help people become more aware that they are able to and can take more control in their recovery journey. They are included as a module in the Michigan Peer Support Specialist training. Recovery Dialogues are positive; designed to help participants grow safely, in a safe place. The ultimate goal when Recovery Dialogues are used is to help people with a mental illness/psychiatric diagnosis understand and realize that there are things each person can do to help them get the life they want, thus helping them further their walk along their recovery journey.

Recovery Dialogue groups start out with a topic of discussion and, therefore, are not considered the same as support groups, mutual support groups  or self-help groups, because of the way group dialogues and interactions are handled. When a topic is discussed in a Recovery Dialogue Group, group participants are discussing and focusing on something other than themselves; a particular topic.  Participants are encouraged to learn and draw from what they have already learned or what they have inside them, rather than receiving all of the answers to topic questions from others.

The goal for Recovery Dialogue facilitators is not to teach, but to listen and ask questions that help group participants explore their own answers as to what will work best for them. This helps everyone sidestep the powerful lack of power that can occur when a group facilitator leads the discussions and group members are given permission (showing a power differential) or guided into answers.

There are at least 20 separate Recovery Dialogues that have been developed. These dialogues can be used repeatedly as people grow and discover different layers of answers within themselves; helping each person to become more able to move forward in their recovery journey.