“We’re back and bigger than ever” - Mental health courses launch at Recovery Academy | News and Events

Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH)’s Recovery Academy is back this Spring, with the launch of their latest term, including new face-to-face courses and more student places available.

The new term will run from April to September 2022; and will feature a range of brand-new courses including Yoga and Wellbeing; Hepatitis C: Enhancing Testing, Prevention and Care; and Comedy and Wellbeing.

With over 65 courses on offer, the term will also feature many tried and tested favourites, on topics such as Trauma, Personality Disorder, Addiction, Depression, Sleep, Dementia, and many more.

Face to face courses are available at various locations across Manchester, Bolton, Salford, Trafford and Wigan.

GMMH Recovery Academy was launched in 2013 and offers people  learning opportunities to help them manage and promote good mental health and wellbeing.

All courses and resources are created and delivered  by professionals alongside people with lived experience, to make sure they are relevant, well-informed and based on real experiences.

Courses and resources are aimed at those looking to increase their knowledge and understanding in mental health and/or addiction, improve their wellbeing, or support someone else’s - or those who simply want to learn something new.

The Academy is free to join and available to:

• Anyone who is experiencing mental health or addiction problems (you do not have to be under NHS mental health services).
• Their supporters (family, friends and loved ones).
• GMMH staff members, volunteers, and students on placement.
• Any healthcare professionals.

A student who attended the ‘Let’s Talk About Suicide’ course earlier this year said:

“I really enjoyed the delivery approach, this can be a sensitive subject and the course was well thought out and everyone was made to feel comfortable. I found the course really engaging and would recommend the course to everyone”.

Claire Watson, Head of Service User/Carer Engagement & Improvement, with responsibility for the Recovery Academy, said:

“We are so excited to be back and bigger than ever! The easing of Covid-19 restrictions has meant we can offer more places on our taught courses. That said, we are still very committed to keeping everyone safe and you can read more about our safety measures at www.gmmh.nhs.uk/recovery . “Although the pandemic was a traumatic time for many of us, it did allow the team time to develop more resources, so we really are back bigger than ever, with more face-to-face courses than ever before, and additional self-help resources, e-learning packages and radio podcasts. “We work with partners like Open Awards, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, University of Law, United Response, and the Laughing Horse to continually develop the provision of courses. We hope everyone enjoys everything we have to offer and if you think of anything else the Recovery Academy can do then let us know! “The Recovery Academy also offers bespoke training packages for other organisations and has successfully delivered trauma informed mental health training to various partners in the past 12 months including, Metrolink, Greater Manchester Supported Housing Providers and Greater Manchester Faith Leaders. If you are interested in bespoke training for your organisation, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.”

Booking will be open from 04 April 2022. 

From 04 April, to make enquiries or book a place on a course please contact the Recovery Academy team at recoveryacademy@gmmh.nhs.uk or telephone 0161 358 1771.

Individual course bookings can be done directly from 04 April at www.gmmh.nhs.uk/free-courses where you can create your own personal account and explore everything on offer.