Recovery‐Oriented Care Planning in Mental Healthcare Services: A Combined Concept Analysis and Scoping Review

ABSTRACT

Recovery‐oriented care planning is increasingly promoted within international mental health policy and practice; however, the concept remains inconsistently defined and operationalised across the literature. This study aimed to clarify the concept of recovery‐oriented care planning using Walker and Avant's concept analysis method alongside a scoping review. Literature was systematically searched across six electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ProQuest One Academic and Scopus. Data were analysed across 28 included papers to identify antecedents, defining attributes, consequences, empirical referents and model cases of recovery‐oriented care planning. The findings demonstrated that recovery‐oriented care planning emerged from broader philosophical and policy shifts away from paternalistic and symptom‐focused models towards collaborative, person‐centred and recovery‐oriented mental healthcare. Defining attributes included collaboration and shared decision‐making, strengths‐based and person‐centred approaches, recovery‐focused goal setting, empowering therapeutic relationships and viewing care planning as an ongoing and dynamic process. Recovery‐oriented care planning was associated with increased empowerment, hope, autonomy, therapeutic alliance, self‐management and more holistic and individualised care. Empirical referents included recovery‐oriented care planning tools, collaborative planning processes and recovery‐focused outcome and fidelity measures. This concept analysis provides greater conceptual clarity regarding recovery‐oriented care planning and may support future research, education, policy development and implementation of recovery‐oriented mental healthcare practices.