The looking-glass self: Looking at relationship as the mechanism of change in case management of persons with severe mental illness

Community mental health case management has been an important source of support for persons living with a severe mental illness (SMI) since the shift from hospital-based to community-based services, and it is considered to be a central component of the recovery-based model of care. Fostering a strong and positive relationship between case managers and consumers is important to good case management practice. The ascendance of recovery in the mental health paradigm has invigorated the need for collaborative relationships that open up space for consumers to move toward recovery. Using Cooley's metaphor of the looking-glass self, we examine the consumer-case manager relationship and how it helps create a new, recovery-oriented self in SMI consumers. Understanding this relationship as an important mechanism of change provides a useful model for understanding the impact of case managers on the lives of SMI consumers. © 2012 Alliance for Children and Families.