The aim of this qualitative study is to explore the experience of supporting persons with severe mental disorder to their recovery in long-term psychiatric unit of the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine inpatient mental health providers and they answered the Recovery attitude questionnaire (RAQ-7).Results The comments gathered point to three central components of the experience, namely hope, involvement and commitment to the person. The link between those components is, however, not a closed dynamic because contextual, environmental and interpretive factors are also involved including being confronted to inpatient with significant symptoms and the culture of the organization, the provider's attitude toward the concept of recovery and its definition of the concept. Consideration of these factors can promote a successful implementation of favourable modes of intervention in the recovery of users in residential and long-term psychiatric care environments.