Nowadays, research has made significant progress, not only in understanding the different brain functions, but also in improving symptom control, cognitive functions, psychosocial behaviors, quality of life and self-agency in people with severe and persistent mental illnesses. Effective rehabilitation interventions exist in many of these areas and the outcomes of recovery are becoming clearer. It is now well-known that each patient has its own path of recovery, comprising different and relatively independent domains. The author proposes to define recovery highlighting improvements in specific areas, rather than on a global and generalized level. This approach enhances the use of a more precise terminology and facilitates communication - between professionals, patients, families, politicians and administrators - and helps also to overcome the equivalence between chronicity and immutability, considering that outcome measurements take into account closely related domains. Hence, a patient is not to be considered "ontologically chronic", but ‘functional or dysfunctional’ depending on the domain involved. The author, in this article, underlines the fundamental principle of "person-centered care", based on a holistic approach, individualized and integrated treatments and professional collaboration. This approach counters "disease or physician centered" care and proposes an "integrated and user-oriented organizational model", with interdisciplinary teams - from different social or health services - sharing a common paradigm.
Keywords: Chronicity, Multidimensionality, Recovery, Chronic Care Model