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ABSTRACT   The aim of this study is to examine which factors people with mental illness describe as contributing to their recovery process. The aim is also to examine the importance of club houses. The study is based on ten qualitative interviews from people with experience of mental illness and the empirical data was analyzed using a qualitative content analysis. The main results highlight four different facilitating factors; social network, equality, meeting other people with mental illness and individual resources and strategies. The social network was described as a prerequisite to the recovery process, but the study also shows that meeting peers with similar experiences played a key role. Being treated as an equal by professionals they came in contact with during their recovery process contributed to their own sense of self and facilitated the feeling of participation. The results also emphasize the importance of one’s own resources and strategies. By realizing what part they had played in their own recovery process it brought on a feeling of pride and achievement. The result from this study aim to provide a deeper understanding of the contributing factors in the recovery process which may have importance for social services to people with mental instabilities.