Recovery Model
The Mental Illness Recovery Center, Inc. specializes in the recovery process. When a mental illness disrupts someone's life, he or she will require medical, psychiatric and rehabilitative treatment. They will also need to recovery from the disruptions and losses caused by the illness. MIRCI provides opportunities for many aspects of this recovery process to members of its programs.
Visiting with members of the Friendship Center revealed what some individuals are working on in their recovery process:
- Learning about one's particular mental illness: the proper diagnosis and the symptoms
- Working regularly to reduce personal stress
- Starting at one's present level and learning how to overcome the debilitating effects of the illness
- Participating in activities regularly with other people
- Resisting the desire to withdraw from society
- Taking medications as prescribed and communicating regularly with health care professionals
- Knowing what energizes and pleases, and taking initiative to assure more of this in one's life
- Nurturing the desire to accomplish
- Working at current levels of ability and striving to increase abilities and skills
- Taking an interest in and helping others
- Developing and maintaining friendships and acquaintances
- Becoming specialists in monitoring one's health and in getting timely assistance
- Training and educating oneself in one or more of the following areas may be part of the recovery process - relaxation, social skills, assertiveness, conflict resolution, self-care skills and exercise/recreations/games