Economic and Social Empowerment for Persons with Lived Experience: Strengthening Autonomy, Recovery, and Participation in Mental Health Systems
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Economic and Social Empowerment for Persons with Lived Experience:Abstract
Mental health recovery is increasingly understood as extending beyond symptom reduction to include social inclusion, economic security, autonomy, and meaningful participation. However, persons with lived experience (PWLE) of mental health conditions continue to experience unemployment, poverty, stigma, discrimination, and limited access to economic opportunities, which can undermine recovery and restrict meaningful participation in mental health systems. Against the theme, “Voices of Experience Empowering Healing: Exploring Research, Innovation, and Systemic Change to Strengthen Voices of Lived Experience in Prevention, Promotion and Management of Mental Health Conditions,” this paper examines how economic and social empowerment can strengthen the voices, autonomy, and recovery of PWLE and enhance their participation in mental health systems. The study adopted a qualitative literature synthesis approach, reviewing recent peer-reviewed studies, systematic reviews, policy documents, and relevant scholarly literature. Evidence was thematically analyzed according to four objectives addressing economic stability and recovery, structural barriers, empowerment interventions, and strategies for regional system integration. The analysis was informed by the Social Causation and Social Drift perspectives and Self-Determination Theory. Findings demonstrate a bidirectional relationship between economic stability and mental health recovery, while stigma, discrimination, unemployment, and inadequate workplace support remain significant barriers. Supported employment, Individual Placement and Support, peer-support approaches, vocational rehabilitation, and financial inclusion provide important pathways to economic autonomy and social participation. The paper concludes that economic and social empowerment should be integrated into recovery-oriented mental health systems to strengthen PWLE as active partners in prevention, promotion, management, and systemic transformation.
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