Being at Home in the World: Recovery, Embodiment, and Belonging

In this article, a reflection is offered on the value of a phenomenological ap- proach to recovery in the context of mental illness. Personal recovery, which can be understood within the context of person-centered medicine, is con- cerned with an existential stance towards one’s experiences of mental illness. It is argued that phenomenology is a suitable approach to the study of recovery. This is because a phenomenological approach is characterized by certain ele- ments that are likely to stay out of sight in other approaches. Those elements concern the role of embodiment and the concept of world. It is argued that both elements are helpful for the development of a more accurate specifica- tion of the existential stance, namely, in terms of belonging. In so doing, a phenomenological approach to recovery is developed in terms of being at home in the world.