Recovery is a key concept in mental health care and as mental health nurses, we are all encouraged to work towards it with our clients. However, to do this successfully, we need to have an understanding of what recovery is. Recovery has been defined as ‘a deeply personal, unique process of changing one’s attitudes, values, feelings, goals, skills and roles. It is a way of living a satisfying, hopeful and contributing life, even with the limitations caused by illness.’ (Anthony, 1993). The key principles of recovery are finding and maintaining hope, re-establishing a positive identity and taking responsibility and control (Andresen et al, 2003). Recovery is the ultimate goal for your client and, therefore, implementation of the approach into your practice and promoting recovery is key, but as a student nurse, how can you do this? To support service users throughout their recovery journeys, it is imperative that you are able to build a therapeutic relationship, so that they are able to share their recovery goals and you are able to support and facilitate these. Good communication, trust, empathy, unconditional acceptance and understanding are some of the main components needed to do this. Repper and Perkins (2003) state that you must create hope-inspiring relationships to aid recovery. By encouraging, giving support and having confidence in your client, you can help their motivation and self-belief. If you want to promote recovery, do not forget to hear your client’s voice! It is imperative to remember that the service user is an expert on their own condition; only they can define their recovery and they must lead their own unique journey. If you want to implement the recovery approach into your practice, collaboration with your client is crucial. Your role as the nurse is not to be in charge, but to provide resources and support, such as sharing information and skills, supporting the client to manage their condition and helping them to access any resources that they may need to live their own life (Shepherd et al, 2008). This can be done in many ways. If a client wants to try an intervention, it is essential to support them and then use your knowledge and expertise to research the necessary evidence base. You can then provide the patient with information in a way that they are able to understand, so they can make an informed choice. You can also suggest other interventions and explain these but, ultimately, it is the service user’s choice. Sharing of knowledge means that you can collaborate with your client to make a treatment decision for his or her best interests. This is important as recovery is all about promoting self-management of conditions and enabling your service users to have autonomy. You can also provide access to and give information on groups, activities, work placements, volunteer work or any other meaningful activities that your client wishes to join and can help him or her to be socially included. You could even go with them at first if they need the extra support. Here is an example from my practice of how the recovery approach was implemented. I have named the service user Darren to maintain patient confidentiality (NMC, 2010). Darren was a 28-year-old male who was admitted to an acute mental health unit with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. He had been diagnosed 6 years previously, and had been stable for the past year. He had recently been working in a restaurant, however, he felt that the side effects of his medication, such as drowsiness, meant he could not work well. He asked his care coordinator if he could change medication, and was refused. Darren stopped taking his medication without telling anybody, which led to his relapse and admission to hospital. When he first came into hospital, he was put back onto his medication but he was still not happy to take it. I asked Darren why this was and gave him the opportunity to explain and be heard. Darren stated how his goal was to continue working as he said it made him feel good about himself. As recovery is about discovering strengths and a sense of identity (Shepherd et al, 2008), it was obvious employment was an important part of Darren’s recovery journey and, as a nurse, it was my role to support him. We discussed this in the ward round and decided on some other options for medication. We were then able to share our knowledge and give Darren a choice. Darren began taking a new medication, which he tolerated well, and was able to return to work, which he felt very happy about. As a team, we were able to let Darren take control of his own life and choose his goals, while still offering him the support and knowledge that he needed to get back to work. As each recovery journey and client is unique, there is no one specific way to ‘practise’ the process. It is your role as a student nurse to create the conditions in which individuals feel empowered to choose their own recovery (Shepherd et al, 2008). It is essential that you work towards recovery and allow the service user to have choice, make their own goals and walk alongside them throughout their journey. BJN