Illnesses don't recover. People do.
Pat Deegan's Recovery Approach focuses on the person instead of the illness and offers hope-filled tools, technologies and training for people, families and providers. Using Pat's Approach, people can get and keep the life they want, and staff gain the knowledge and skills for practicing true recovery-oriented care.

Pat Deegan: Disruptive Innovator
Patricia E. Deegan Ph.D. is the founder of Pat Deegan & Associates (PDA). For over 30 years Pat has been a thought leader and disruptive innovator in the field of behavioral health recovery.
Pat Deegan's Recovery Approach includes the award-winning CommonGround Software, Recovery Academy, Medication Empowerment, Certified Personal Medicine Coaching and the Hearing Distressing Voices Simulation.
Pat is an activist in the survivor movement and has lived her own journey of recovery after being diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager.
She has held several academic appointments, has numerous publications, and has carried a message of hope for recovery to audiences around the world.
In the Spotlight...
May 2023

What does lived experience really mean and why is it important?
May 18, 2023
In this webinar, Pat Deegan will explore the origins of “lived experience” in philosophy and its migration into behavioral health. She will argue that lived experience introduces a new way of knowing that can complement, and at times disrupt, the clinical worldview.
In the Media...

The Me You Can't See
Pat sat down with Oprah and Prince Harry to discuss mental health recovery.

Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper tried Pat's Hearing Distressing Voices Simulation. Pat and Anderson chatted about his experience.

Psychiatric Services: Podcast
Pat joined Lisa Dixon, MD to discuss Pat's recent publication: The Journey To Use Medications Optimally to Support Recovery.

Unapologetically Black Unicorns
Pat sat down with Keris Jän Myrick on her Podcase Unapologetically Black Unicorns to discuss how Representation and Intentions Matter