New Recovery Academy prospectus released | News and Events

Young people and adults who would like to learn about mental health, wellbeing and recovery can find out more in Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust’s new Recovery Academy prospectus.

The Recovery Academy provides a range of free educational courses and resources for anyone with mental health and/or substance misuse problems, their families and carers as well as health care professionals to lift the lid on this complex area, which affects one in four people.

The Recovery Academy’s new Autumn/Winter Term prospectus is out now, with information on the range of courses taking place in community centres, local hospitals and learning centres across Greater Manchester.

There are currently over 45 courses available from October 2015 to March 2016, which are all completely free, due to funding from the Trust.

You will find yourself learning alongside and hearing from a wide range of people as all the courses are co-written and co-delivered by professionals and people with mental health and/or substance misuse problems, which mean the courses are enriched by professional expertise and lived experience.

These include courses on Mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, creative writing, assertiveness skills, anxiety and depression, addiction and many more. The Academy also offers accredited courses in British Sign Language, peer mentoring, IT, English and Maths. Courses vary in length from one-off workshops to those that take place weekly for a number of weeks.

New for this term are courses that teach the fundamentals of British Sign Language, provide insight into Autism and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as well as guidance for looking after your health and wellbeing and completing job applications.

It will be useful if you are looking to increase your knowledge and understanding of mental health, improve your mental wellbeing, or simply want to meet new people while learning something new.

GMW’s Recovery Academy has been delivering high-quality courses since May 2013, with more than 2,000 students currently enrolled on courses. Availability is on a first come first served basis, so make sure you apply for a Recovery Academy course now.

Claire Watson, GMW’s Recovery Academy Lead, said: “We believe recovery education not only equips people with new skills to support the recovery process and an understanding of mental health challenges, but provides people with the confidence to get back into work or go on to further study.

“We offer accredited courses and collaborate with partners like The Alzheimer’s Society, the National Personality Disorder Development Programme, The Reader Organisation, the Octagon Theatre Bolton and Start in Salford.”

A student registered with the Academy, who attended our Living with Self-Harm course, said: “Thank you to all the trainers, they made a very difficult subject easy to talk about and discuss. It was the first time I had ever openly discussed my personal self-harm and could do this because of how relaxed and comfortable they made me feel.

“It was a very well put together course with enough interactive activities to make you think and explore your own thoughts around self-harm. The facilitators are an asset to the Recovery Academy.”

The Recovery Academy Autumn/Winter term prospectus is available to download from www.gmmh.nhs.uk/recovery.

For further information, contact recoveryacademy@gmmh.nhs.uk or call 0161 358 1771.