Back to class: Recovery Academy return to delivering mental health and wellbeing courses face to face.
Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) is back delivering face-to-face learning as its Recovery Academy returns to the classroom this week (13 May) with courses to support people with their mental health and substance misuse.
The Recovery Academy, run by GMMH, provides a range of free educational courses and resources for current and former GMMH patients and their families, friends, and carers as well as GMMH staff, volunteers, other health care professionals and the general public.
Courses help people with mental health and alcohol and drug problems kick start their recovery as well as learning new skills like coaching, group facilitation and motivational interviewing.
Spaces are available at various locations across Manchester, Bolton, Salford and Trafford, on over 65 courses including anxiety, personality disorder, Trauma, nutrition, sleep, medication, health and wellbeing for carers, dementia and addiction (among others). Courses vary in length from one-off workshops to those that take place weekly for a number of weeks.
A student, who attended a Living with PTSD course earlier this year, said: “The tutors made the course very interesting and engaging, there was a lot I could take away and it was also interesting to be able to have discussions with people with different experiences from different backgrounds”.
The Recovery Academy also offers an array of free electronic resources they built during the pandemic to support people with their mental health and substance use online, including; self-help materials and videos, e-learning packages and radio podcasts.
Claire Watson, Recovery Academy Lead for Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are so pleased to be back providing face to face learning again. All our products 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.
“Things might be a little different when people attend our courses, but we want to reassure everyone that we are continuing to follow the latest guidance from government and have risk assessed all our venues and are only using large rooms where social distancing can be respected. Our courses are still free for everyone and we can’t wait for people to start enjoying our unique learning experience again.”
The Academy work with partners like Open Awards, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, University of Law and United Response to continually develop the provision of courses for people with lived experience of mental health difficulties and substance use, their families, and carers as well as mental health professionals.
To book a place on a free course you will need to register with the Recovery Academy’s new online platform by visiting https://recoveryacademy.gmmh.nhs.uk and creating an account.
