The therapeutic power of volunteering

Abstract

There is growing evidence from smaller evaluative studies in the USA and anecdotal papers in the UK that supported volunteering can help recovery and can be a pathway into paid work for people with serious and fluctuating mental health conditions. It allows the person to take risks and test out a working environment. This opportunity can integrate their experience of mental illness into a valued identity and provides opportunities to engage with a world of work. We recommend that mental health professionals consider ways of providing volunteering opportunities as part of a recovery-oriented service within their organisations.