CAN MENTAL ILLNESS BE "CURED"?

There are few experiences more daunting than being diagnosed with a mental health disorder. The question that often follows is whether such a diagnosis can be "cured". Clinical psychologist and researcher Dr Alissa Knight attempts to answer this complex question and describe the different ways recovery can be measured.

- Dr Alissa Knight

For some people, hearing the words "you have a mental health disorder" can mean instant relief and a sense of validation. As a clinical psychologist, I have also sat opposite a great number of people who have been shocked and grief-stricken by their diagnosis. But regardless of whether a person initially accepts or rejects their diagnosis, one question that almost always follows is: "Will I have this for life?", or "Can I recover from it?"

Diagnosing a mental health disorder follows, more or less, an objective process, but the improvement that follows treatment is much harder to measure. The answer of whether a person can "recover" from a mental health disorder has sparked a level of controversy over the years within the scientific community. There are indeed conflicting views between psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and mental health researchers. Some argue it is entirely possible to recover, while others suggest it is not. Largely, this is due to differing views on the following topics:

Neurological versus psychological disorders 

Clinical recovery versus personal recovery 

Neurological versus psychological disorders

When answering the question of whether someone may have a mental health disorder for life or not, it is helpful to decipher between whether it is a disorder of the mind - "the province of psychiatry", or a disorder of the brain - "the province of neurology".