The Expectation is Recovery at Illinois Department of Mental Health

Treatment options for mental illness are changing all the time. The Illinois Department of Mental Health needed to develop brochures and language to not only help potential clients and their families understand treatment options, but to also think of their illnesses as something from which they can recover.

With nearly 200 separate agencies and hospitals statewide, developing a common language for the philosophy of recovery and the wide array of treatments available was an important step in helping Illinois families understand mental illness.

VDC interviewed important players at the Department and its statewide agencies to understand what they do to help people with mental illness—what options are available, which agencies provide them, and how to access them. Through this extensive research, VDC developed content that was accessible and clear to people suffering from mental illness and their families.