Original Article Recovery Camp: Assisting consumers toward enhanced self-determination Ellie Taylor, 1 Dana Perlman, 2 Lorna Moxham, 3 Shane Pegg, 4 Christopher Patterson, 3 Renee Brighton, 3 Susan Sumskis 3 and Tim Heffernan 5 1 Global Challenges Program, 2 School of Education, 3 School of Nursing, University of Wollongong, New South Wales, 4 School of Business, University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia, and 5 Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District ABSTRACT: Mental health consumers are often socially isolated and may lack the basic leisure competencies which serve as a critical building block for community (re)integration. Therapeutic recreation (TR), as a treatment modality for people with mental illness, is yet to be fully embraced in the Australian health-care setting, despite having a strong historical foundation in North America. A team of academics created a TR experience, termed Recovery Camp, which was designed to collectively engage consumers and future health professionals drawn from a range of discipline areas. The 2014 Recovery Camp was staged over a five day period and involved 28 adult consumers living with mental illness. Consumers undertook a diverse range of experiential recreation activities engineered to facilitate individual engagement and to encourage the development of positive therapeutic relationships and teamwork. The camp atmosphere was deliberately community-based and recovery-oriented, valuing the lived experience of mental illness. Using a 2 × 3 design involving a camp and comparison group, the study sought to examine the influence of a TR programme on the self-determination of individuals with a mental illness. Those who participated in the Recovery Camp reported an increase in awareness of self and perceived choice post-camp, relative to the comparison group. While this difference remained significant for awareness of self at three-month follow-up, there was no significant difference in perceived choice between the two groups at follow-up. Study findings serve to support the role of recreation within a recovery framework to positively change the health-related behaviour of mental health consumers. KEY WORDS: adult, mental health, lived experience recovery, Recovery Camp, self-determination. INTRODUCTION For many years, mental health care has been embedded in a medical model where the focus has principally been on repairing damage and striving for a cure, with little consideration of the individual’s personal sense of wellbeing (Carruthers & Hood 2004; Pegg & Moxham 2000). While wellbeing is influenced by many factors, a key element is an individual’s level of self-determination or motivation (Carruthers & Hood 2004). Self-determination has been an area of importance within the mental health field for a number of years (Craike & Coleman 2005). The importance of self-determination could be attributed to its’ strong connection with positive leisure experiences and other forms of social engagement, which collectively serve as a buffer Correspondence: Ellie Taylor, Global Challenges Program, University of Wollongong, Building 20, Level 2, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong NSW 2522, Australia. Email: elliejo@uow.edu.au Ellie Taylor, B Psych (Hons), M Science (Psychology). Dana Perlman, B.Ed (Physical Education); MEDL; PhD (Sport Pedagogy). Lorna Moxham, RN, MHN (Mental Health Nurse); PhD (Mental Health); MEd; BHSc (Nsg); DASc (Nsg); GDip OH&S; GCert Qual Mngt; Cert IV Training & Assessment. Fellow: Australian College of Mental Health Nurses; Fellow Australian College of Nursing. Shane Pegg, Assoc.D (Community Recreation), M.BA, M.Sci, Grad Cert (Gerontology), Grad Dip (Management), B.Arts (Hons), PhD. Christopher Patterson, RN, BN; Hons; MN (Mental Health); MACMHN. Renee Brighton, RN, BN, MN (Mental Health), PhD (Mental Health). Susan Sumskis, RN, CMHN (Credentialed Mental Health Nurse): BN; Hons; PhD Mental Health; FACMHN. Tim Heffernan, Lived Experience, B.Arts, Grad Dip (Education), Cert III in Disability Work, Cert IV Mental Health Peer Support Work. Accepted February 23 2016. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc. doi: 10.1111/inm.12227 International Journal of Mental Health Nursing (2016) ••, ••–••