This thesis offers a critical consideration of the recovery approach to severe and enduring mental-health problems (Roberts & Boardman, 2013; Anthony, 1993), with the primary-research element focused on recovery after forensic secure care. A systematic review of qualitative research into recovery processes was conducted, using best-fit framework synthesis as a method of analysis (chapter 2). An expansion of the CHIME recovery model (Leamy et al., 2011) is proposed, in which the difficulties experienced by service users are more prominently considered. Chapters 3 and 4 report an investigation of the barriers to recovery perceived by people discharged from forensic secure care, using interpretative phenomenological analysis as a method (Smith et al., 2009). Eight participants were interviewed, and five superordinate themes are proposed: living in the shadow of the past, power imbalances, security and care, reconfigured relationships, and ‘recovery’ as a barrier to recovery. The final chapter of the portfolio is a shorter reflective paper considering the wider context of the work.