Things matter: about materiality and recovery from mental health difficulties

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to explore how material things might become involved in the recovery process of people with mental health difficulties. METHOD: Empirical material from three different studies on various aspects concerning mental health issues that each of the authors had conducted was reanalysed through a phenomenological item analysis. RESULTS: We discovered that mundane objects such as a mobile phone, a bench, a door and a key have agency to contribute to peoples’ recovery and wellbeing. Things became agents that created contexts that initiated physical, social and emotional movements. CONCLUSION: By giving attention to materiality we might become aware of the importance of things as agents in living in general and in recovery processes for people with mental health difficulties in particular.