How Are “Crisis” and “Recovery” Defined in Crisis Family Support?: A Comparative Study of Perceptions Between Service Recipients and Practitioners

This study examines how recipients and practitioners in a crisis recoverysupport program define “crisis” and “recovery,” with the goal of deriving practical andpolicy implications. Participants were nine recipients and seven practitioners from thesixth-year cohort of the Goodneighbors’ Crisis Family Recovery Support Program. Datawere gathered through in-depth and focus group interviews (FGIs) and analyzed usingqualitative content analysis. Recipients perceived crisis as an unbearable state ofaccumulated hardship caused by broken social ties and disrupted daily routines, whilerecovery meant psychological restoration and financial independence, ultimately markedby leaving public assistance. Practitioners viewed crisis as complex, urgent situationsoverlooked by the public support system, and recovery as the resumption of daily andeconomic life, emphasizing recipients’ goals, capabilities, and will. The findingsunderscore the need for an early crisis detection system and for redefining recovery as amultidimensional process. Policy should reflect recipients’ subjective experiences andexpand family support to encompass not only economic stability but also psychologicaland social recovery.