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International Centre for Principles and Values of Recovery and Thriving
EleMental is an international organisation introducing and developing the elements of Recovery and Thriving with National leads in countries throughout the world. In addition to defining these concepts, we will focus on the core values of humanity, human rights, equality, dignity and self worth.
Marion Aslan and Olga Runciman - March 2009
“All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.”
T.E. Lawrence
Values Statement
EleMental represents an ever growing collective of visionaries from around the world who are actively working to promote wellness, recovery and thriving led by an underpinning philosophy that mental distress is a human experience which should not be used to define an individual, nor does it warrant a medical label.
Based on our own experiences, work and research and that of other leading world experts we firmly dispute the reductionist theories, the medical language and the oppression of maintenance model systems. Subtle and non-subtle forms of discrimination and stigma are inherent within mental health systems to the point that, in reality, they are often regimes which coerce, control, trap and punish the person in distress. We believe that this is an affront to the dignity of the individual and needs to be addressed.
EleMental believes that;
- The experiences are unique to the individual and the person’s right to an explanation and understanding of those experiences is paramount.
- The distress must be considered in the context of the person’s life experiences, i.e. within social and environmental frameworks.
- People who experience mental distress have within them the capacity to recover and thrive. Organisations and professionals are there as guides but do not own that recovery process. The individual should therefore determine their own journey as the expert of their own experiences.
This can be achieved by;
- Speaking out and challenging oppression, coercion, stigmatisation, myths and assumptions.
- EleMental taking an active lead as the channel for which the voices of people who dispute the medicalisation of misery can be heard.
- Educating the individual experiencing distress in Recovery / Thriving skills and competencies to reclaim their lives and emancipate themselves.
- Educating mental health workers and supporters to be competent in recovery skills and knowledgeable of the elements necessary for recovery and thriving.
- Educating a wider populace on all the above.
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