Using the Citizenship framework to Inform Recovery Pathways for People with Lived Experience of Mental Health Challenges

The citizenship framework is an emerging trend in the fields of mental health and social inclusion. We can define citizenship as a measure of the strength of the connection of people with five dimensions (5Rs in English): rights; responsibilities; the roles and resources that society offers to its members; and relationships, which involve close bonds, supportive social networks, and community living. This framework shifts the focus in mental health care from symptom management to fostering full societal membership, aligning therapeutic outcomes with the enhancement of these dimensions. This framework has inspired various evidence-based interventions aimed at fostering social inclusion, and has been applied worldwide in diverse community, clinical, and forensic settings. Its huge range of innovations highlights the framework's potential to promote empowerment and social integration. In Spain, a project awarded in the 2012 call, carried out by the same research group, has already managed to validate an evaluation instrument and begin the dissemination of the framework among mental health professionals. The LiveCitizenship project aims to enhance recovery pathways through the strategic application of the Citizenship framework. The project adopts a participatory approach actively engaging service users, peer support workers, and anti-stigma first-person activists throughout the process. Its overarching goal unfolds through four interconnected objectives: a) to explore the applicability of the Citizenship framework in shaping recovery pathways through co-design workshops with individuals with mental health challenges, b) to co-create and implement a peer-led training program based on the Citizenship framework to empower participants promoting their social inclusion, c) co-design and validate a self-assessment tool integrating the Citizenship framework and artificial intelligence, enabling individuals to evaluate their recovery trajectories and plan personalized recovery strategies, d) to measure the impact of the training program and the self-assessment tool on participants’ knowledge, skills, and recovery outcomes using both quantitative and qualitative methods, and e) to disseminate findings and tools to stakeholders, including service users, their relatives, advocacy groups, and mental health professionals, to encourage widespread adoption of Citizenship-based practices. Through the integration of participatory methods and technological innovation, the project strives to develop sustainable, scalable solutions that promote full societal inclusion for individuals with mental health challenges. Its comprehensive dissemination strategy, targeting professionals, advocacy groups, and the public, aims to maximize impact and catalyse systemic change to strengthen recovery journeys and foster full citizenship of people with mental health challenges.