Cross-cultural comparison of recovery college implementation between Japan and England : corpus-based discourse analysis

Abstract

Recovery Colleges (RCs) are mental health learning communities, operated in 28 countries across cultures. However, the RC operational model is informed by Western countries sharing similar cultural characteristics such as individualism and short-term orientation. How RC operational model needs to be adapted to non-Western culture remains unknown. We investigated how RCs are introduced to the public in two countries with contrasting cultural characteristics: Japan (collectivism, long-term) and England (individualism, short-term). Corpus-based discourse analysis on 22,827 words from promotional texts (13 RCs in Japan, 61 in England) revealed that both countries emphasised mental illness lived experiences. In Japan, the focus was on the relational and long-term aspects of recovery. In England, the focus was on personal learning and skill acquisition. People attending RCs in Japan may anticipate experiencing collectivistic and long-term elements, which are viewed unfavourably in the operational model. Findings suggest refinements to the operational model to include under-represented cultural characteristics.