Receiving a mental health diagnosis can be pivotal for service users, and it has been described in both positive and negative terms. What influences service-user experience of the diagnostic process is unclear; consequently, clinicians report uncertainty regarding best practice. This Review aims to understand and inform diagnostic practice through a comprehensive synthesis of qualitative data on views and experiences from key stakeholders (service users, clinicians, carers, and family). We searched five databases and identified 78 papers for inclusion, originating from 13 countries and including 2228 participants. Eligible papers were assessed for quality, and data were coded and then developed into themes, which generated a model representing factors to consider for clinicians conveying, and individuals receiving, mental health diagnoses. Themes included disclosure, information provision, collaboration, timing, stigma, and functional value of diagnosis for recovery. Variations between different stakeholders and clinical contexts are explored. Findings support an individualised, collaborative, and holistic approach to mental health diagnosis.

Background: An extensive literature exists describing treatment interventions and recovery from eating disorders (EDs); however, this body of knowledge is largely symptom-based and from a clinical perspective and thus limited in capturing perspectives and values of individuals with lived experience of an ED. In this study, we performed a systematic review to coproduce a conceptual framework for personal recovery from an ED based on primary qualitative data available in published literature. Methods: A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis approach was used. Twenty studies focusing on ED recovery from the perspective of individuals with lived experience were included. The studies were searched for themes describing the components of personal recovery. All themes were analyzed and compared to the established CHIME and SAMHSA frameworks of recovery, which are applicable to all mental disorders.Themes were labeled and organized into a framework outlining key components of the ED personal recovery process. Results: Supportive relationships, hope, identity, meaning and purpose, empowerment, and self-compassion emerged as the central components of the recovery process. Symptom recovery and its relationship to the personal recovery process is also significant. Conclusions: Individuals with lived experience of EDs noted six essential elements in the personal ED recovery process. This framework is aligned with several of the key components of the CHIME and SAMHSA frameworks of recovery, incorporating personcentered elements of the recovery process. Future research should validate these constructs and develop instruments (or tools) that integrate the lived experiences into a measurement of recovery from an ED.