Rights-Based Recovery and Cultural Worth Orientations in Psychiatric Services

Personal recovery and rights-based approaches are now central to psychiatric services, but assumptions about entitlement to support may not be culturally neutral. This column introduces worth orientations as a cultural dimension shaping how service users interpret quality of life. In countries with a dignity-based worth orientation, support is more readily framed as grounded in inherent human value. In countries with an effort-based worth orientation, support is more linked to contribution, endurance, or deservingness. Recognising these differences can help psychiatric services communicate recovery goals more sensitively and develop culturally responsive practices.