Hi I'm A Catherine Wheel and I access my mental health services from the Stonebridge Centre, for the City Local Mental Health Services City East Team, Nottingham.
My post is about the Recovery College on the Duncan Macmillan site, in Nottingham
In Nottingham we can have 3 academic terms at the Recovery College and can take several courses each term. More courses than I could certainly have benefitted from.
I found the courses I chose such as Anxiety Management, Mindfulness, Confidence, getting a good night's sleep, and research methods for conducting health research were all excellent and I got such a lot out of them. I'm still working on what I learnt and will do so for the rest of my life. These were all starter courses going through the basics to set people on their way. Excellent in content, well delivered and paced, fun at times, always enjoyable, with handouts etc to take away and keep. They are put together and presented and reviewed by trained service users, practitioners, and tutors from local colleges etc. The courses really are amazing. Bang on the button.
More than just the courses though, people who attend are treated well, met with courtesy and kindness, receive a warm welcome that is carried through all the three academic terms. Also because the experience is so good, we all have a great time, enjoy meeting each other, have coffee etc together and share stories and comments etc. It's just entirely positive. We are upbeat, and hopefully this is reflected in the feedback we give at the end of our courses.
So I just wonder if you could think about the following for us Recovery College participants to make the excellent, stunning!!!
1. Could you think about the access only for 3 academic terms?
3 terms for a person's entire adult life seems a little "brief". Yes we can cram in loads of courses in that time. I however cancelled several because there was just too much to sort out before I felt able to do the next one. The sifting, sorting my notes with the given notes, to have a handle on what I'd learned so I could put that down a bit and learn from another essential course I'd picked. So I didn't do all that many courses anyway. Plus I did fall apart and missed a course doing that!
Also I didn't really know what I'd want for my whole life. Now I know I'd have liked to do some other courses that now I feel I could use to benefit the person I am now. I'm different now, my requirements are different too. I'm older, I have many other concerns now too. I've had my three terms, and I can't access the Recovery College anymore as long as my mortal life is. That makes me feel a bit vulnerable, on my own.
There's bits too I'd like to ask about, eg from Anxiety Management. I'd love to ask a bit more, things I might not have got "right", perhaps take other stuff a bit further. But I've looked "out there" and can't find a course to go on anywhere else.
2. Feedback.
We do feedback immediately after a course. Have you thought about long-term feedback? How have we done, and how has our course helped a year or two or three down the line? What would we like covered now we've had this long-term experience of living after a course? How effective is it in the long-term etc? Do we need anything else now?
Also we don't seem to know what happens to the feedback we give. We often said this over coffee. Do you do a report or something? If so, where are the reports, can we see them?
3. If, say, you changed a policy that might affect people who've been there before, eg if you did change the access policy, how would we know? Do you tell former students about what's going on? If you don't do you think you will?
4. Research
Have you any research reports you might have compiled on things like how much a person can take in, studying, and how many courses it's effective to do at a given time? Is it a bit of a waste to cram in as many as you can? Is 3 academic terms "right" for learning etc?
Have you any research or know of research that's looked into the long-term prospects for people who have attended a Recovery College, and how effective Recovery Colleges are over time?
It would be so interesting to know what we are involved in, and how we come to be involved, to have Recovery Colleges and models, and how they do or maybe don't work for us. It' d be great to be part of it all. To think.
Well, thanks for the Recovery College, it is excellent, and I'm a fan!
A Catherine Wheel in the Certain Ages with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
"The Recovery College Nottingham : Duncan Macmillan site"
About: Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust / Nottingham Recovery College Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Nottingham Recovery College Nottingham NG3 6AA
Posted by A Catherine Wheel (as ),
Do you have a similar story to tell?
Tell your story & make a difference ››
Responses
See more responses from Jane Danforth
See more responses from Chris Beeley
See more responses from Julian Eve
Update posted by A Catherine Wheel (a service user) 5 years ago
See more responses from Jane Danforth
Update posted by A Catherine Wheel (a service user) 5 years ago
See more responses from Helen Brown
Update posted by A Catherine Wheel (a service user) 5 years ago