Despite stronger regulation, there is persistent public concern about the practice values of nurses and other health and social care providers. Implementing values-based frameworks of care, such as the recovery approach in mental health, can be challenging. One aspect of the recovery approach that has received little attention is the language used by mental health practitioners, and the extent to which this is recovery oriented. This article provides a preliminary exploration of the relationship between language and recovery, and suggests more systematic research and analysis should be undertaken.