Our Recovery Colleges offer educational courses designed to provide increased understanding of mental health and support people through their recovery, promoting hope, opportunity and aspirations for the future. Service users are empowered to become experts in their own wellbeing and recovery.
Each of our Recovery Colleges within Cygnet Health Care is unique and has been developed in co-production with the service users at each of its secure care services. With a wide range of courses on offer from mental health awareness, mindfulness, healthy living, maths, English, music, film production and more, there is something for everyone. Courses are run on site by service users or staff members for their peers and are designed to suit all skill levels and abilities.
The Recovery Colleges are based upon college principles in all aspects of their culture and operation, taking an educational approach to recovery.
Working in co-production the Recovery Colleges are places where the expertise of those with lived experience is blended with that of professional health care practitioners, reframing the nature of the relationship between professionals and people who use services to one of shared learning and co-production.
Although accredited courses are on offer the Recovery College is not a substitute for general education and opportunities offered by local educational establishments. It can, however, provide a route on to mainstream education via, for example, ‘return to study’ courses or provide people with an opportunity to build self-confidence to progress if they choose.
The following adult mental health services currently offer a Recovery College: