Psychosocial Recovery Coaching and the National Disability Insurance Scheme: Outcomes and their Alignment with the CHIME-D Recovery Framework

Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provides individualised funding to eligible people with disability to purchase required services and supports. However, people with psychosocial disability have experienced challenges in accessing these supports. In response, the NDIS introduced psychosocial recovery coaching as a 'recovery oriented' support for people with psychosocial disability. This study, based on research undertaken with an Australian organisation providing psychosocial recovery coaching, aims to identify outcomes of this support and how these relate to the CHIME-D recovery framework and broader evidence on peer-delivered mental health support. The study shows that overall, participant experiences and outcomes of psychosocial recovery coaching align strongly with the CHIME-D recovery framework, and with the NDIS stipulated goals and responsibilities of psychosocial recovery coaching service delivery. This paper contributes new knowledge on the outcomes of psychosocial recovery coaching and suggests that future iterations of NDIS psychosocial supports should align with personal recovery outcomes-including those identified by people with psychosocial disability.