"Each course has helped my recovery"

South West London Recovery College

I am an individual with a mental health condition who has had cause to use South West London Recovery College Services. The recovery courses are run in conjunction with South West London and St George’s Mental Health, a NHS Trust.  The recovery courses are written by competent peer trainers who have ‘lived’ with a mental health condition, and together, with a mental health professional, present these courses to the class

The courses cover various mental health conditions such as  “Understanding Psychosis and Schizophrenia” as well as courses which promote assertiveness  and wellbeing, – a set of evidence based actions which were developed by the New Economics Foundation (NEF)

 The college welcomes you, however, well you are onto  the courses  needless to say both peer and mental health professional are  approachable and attentive to students needs.

Courses run on a session basis (one session=half a day) other courses  are run over several sessions and can last several weeks. The courses take place over several sites across South West London.

The courses are  structured  for individual as well as group participation. The courses  are informative and also come with handouts. Group discussion is positively encouraged. – offering   support to one another and feeling understood;  they also  help focus by  raising a persons  awareness and  self esteem by letting a person feel valued and appreciated.  

By building on and giving a person confidence the individual is able to create a sense of purpose, something which may have been lacking  in their lives before.

 So far I have attended 5 different Recovery courses. Each recovery course  has dealt with some  aspect of mental health which I  found  invaluable in aiding my recovery.  

 

‘Think out of the box”

And, just like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle these recovery courses interlock with other courses. Think of them as added components.  Completing one course, or one jigsaw puzzle, lets you to see a picture of ‘yourself’.  Enrolling on more courses offers you the chance to see a bigger, more focused picture of ‘you’.

This bigger picture hopefully brings a sense of purpose to your life, encouraging empowerment; a picture where you feel included and are part of a wider society.

 

“Your Kit, Your Toolbox”

Just following  simple breathing exercises can help when you fear a  panic attack coming on. Other ‘tools’ for your ‘toolbox’  you may develop can give you coping strategies to spot certain triggers which may lead you to taking a down ward spiral in your mental wellbeing.

 

An ideal picture for the Country:

South West London Recovery College has already  shown  to me that its tutors have the expertise to deliver appropriate, bespoke courses to people with  mental health conditions.  As a student who has attended  many of these courses I can testify to their excellence and the benefit they bring.

With the appropriate funding for training and development,  recovery courses could deliver much needed services to a wider audience beyond its current remit. If given proper 'steering',  they could be ‘rolled out’ nationally to all parts of England and Wales. The benefit  in the long term would far outweigh any short term expense  - A timely reminder once again to state that at some point in a person’s life they may well  suffer from some form of mental condition, the recovery courses can help address these concerns both in the short and long term.