Asian perspectives on personal recovery in mental health : a scoping review

Background: Personal recovery is a relatively novel concept in many Asian countries, and recovery-oriented interventions are usually adapted from western conceptualizations of recovery. Aim: To understand what personal recovery in mental health means to people in Asia, what meanings they give to their conditions, and what factors they perceive as hindering or facilitating their recovery. Method: The review focused on peer-reviewed papers published in English between the years 2000 and 2020. Arksey and O’Malley 5-stage method was used to guide the review. Results: Thirty studies were included. Personal recovery in Asia meant a return to a pre-illness state and involved a transformative process. Mental illness was explained as being biomedically oriented, although religious/culturally bound explanations were also present in some studies. Social support, religion, meaningful activities, supportive professionals, and personalized coping strategies were viewed as supporting recovery. Religious stigma, discrimination, gendered norms, and negative societal perceptions of mental illness hindered recovery. Conclusions: The concept of personal recovery in Asia is extremely diverse. Studies exploring personal recovery among people experiencing mental illness in Asia remains in its early stages and more research is needed to better understand how it is conceptualized. Such knowledge could benefit frontline implementation of recovery-oriented services.