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Background Mental health recovery is a prominent topic of discussion in the global mental health settings. The concept of mental health recovery brought about a major shift in the traditional philosophical views of many mental health systems. Aim The purpose of this article is to outline the results of a qualitative study on mental health recovery, which involved mental health consumers, carers and mental health nurses from an Area Mental Health Service in Victoria, Australia. This paper is Part One of the results that explored the meaning of recovery. Methods The study used van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenology to analyse the data. Findings Themes suggested that the cohort had varying views on recovery that were similar and dissimilar. The similar views were categorised under two processes involving the self, an internal process and an external process. These two processes involved reclaiming various aspects of oneself, living life, cure or absence of symptoms and contribution to community. The dissimilar views involved returning to pre-illness state and recovery was impossible. Conclusion This study highlights the need for placing importance on the person's sense of self in the recovery process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acquired brain injury (ABI) presents a significant threat to sense of self and necessitates a complex process of psychosocial adjustment. Self-concept changes remain understudied in the early stages of inpatient rehabilitation. The aim of the current study was to examine changes in self-concept, distress, wellbeing and functional skills for five inpatients undertaking a music therapy intervention within a subacute rehabilitation centre in Victoria, Australia. Participants completed a six-week, 12-session therapeutic songwriting programme to produce past-, current- and future-self-focused songs. A range of self-concept, subjective wellbeing and distress measures were completed pre-, mid- and post-intervention. A descriptive case series approach was applied to determine trends in pre-post scores for five individual cases. Participants showing the greatest gains across self-concept and subjective wellbeing indices also showed the greatest functional gains on the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) from admission to discharge. The current study highlights the importance of examining early changes in self-concept, wellbeing and distress in subacute rehabilitation, and suggests that individualised songwriting programmes warrant further research attention in neurological populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary objective: Family caregivers play an important role in managing challenging behaviours after TBI. The aims of this study were to understand how family caregivers of individuals with TBI perceive challenging behaviours and their impact on the TBI individual's community integration and family functioning. Research design: A qualitative research design was employed to capture the lived experience of family caregivers of individuals with TBI. Methods and procedures: Face-to-face interviews were conducted on six female family caregivers of individuals with severe TBI (sustained an average of 17 years earlier) and long-standing challenging behaviours. Main outcomes and results: The results revealed that family caregivers adopted a broader definition of challenging behaviour than that used by professionals and these behaviours impacted on the community integration of the individual with TBI, most notably leading to poor social relationships. Challenging behaviours were viewed as a key source of distress and burden for family caregivers and they used many different strategies to manage the behaviours. Conclusion: Greater understanding of challenging behaviours from the perspectives of family caregivers may help provide more effective support and interventions to improve quality-of-life for individuals with challenging behaviours after TBI and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]