Recovery is important to anyone who doesn't want to stay stuck. When one tries to work on their recovery and to make progress on their personal recovery goals, there are thoughts, attitudes and actions that a community mental health system or mental health service provider can do or have that may or may not support you on your recovery journey.

Knowing how important recovery is, the Michigan Recovery Council (one of the partners in system transformation) felt it important to know and understand how supportive mental health service providers in Michigan were of recovery.

To measure how supportive of recovery the program or services you receive are, the Michigan Recovery Council requested implementation of the Recovery Enhancing Environment (REE) measuring tool. Many people across Michigan took part in the REE survey and answered questions like:

Improving my general health and wellness is important to my recovery.

Having positive relationships are important to me on my recovery journey.

Having my basic needs met is important to my recovery journey.

Taking on new challenges and moving out of my comfort zone is important to my recovery journey.

The REE survey didn't have questions that had right or wrong answers. What was being looked at was whether you knew that something was important (had someone helped you learn it was important and did they support what you thought or felt), and were the staff that support you helping you get your needs met, or did they help you understand that these things were important pieces of your recovery journey.

When the Recovery Council looked at the compiled answers, they were able to see whether the program, provider or staff was recovery focused, or not. They were not able to see individual answers or answers per community mental health provider.

Community mental health systems and other providers of mental health services looked at the answers that were compiled from the results of the REE. They then looked at how their organization might need to change or learn to become more recovery focused, oriented or friendly. The REE is meant to be part of an organizational development process that includes all stakeholders, not just a one-time event.

The REE was developed by Priscilla Ridgway, Ph.D., a researcher who identifies herself as a mental health consumer.  She is an Associate Professor with the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University.