Students make giant steps towards their recovery goals

A college providing courses on mental health recovery is celebrating its first graduation ceremony, held on 22 November.

Hastings and Rother Recovery College is run by Activ8 and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. It focuses on mental health, wellbeing and recovery-based education for people with mental health challenges, their friends, families and staff. Many of the graduates, from their teens to their 70s, battled the odds to get to class every week.

Courses include mindfulness, happiness, improving your sleep, understanding your diagnosis and managing anxiety. They are all co-produced and co-run by peer trainers with personal experience of mental health challenges alongside trainers whose expertise comes from professional training. Attendees heard inspiring stories from trainers and students and premiered the film ‘Hope, Opportunity, Recovery - Recovery College, Sussex’ by film maker Annis Joslin.

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Diana Byrne, Senior Peer Trainer said, “These courses bring hope and self-awareness. People have gained insight and I’ve seen them move towards their goals and dreams. It empowers students to learn about their mental illness and to know what to do to avoid being ill.”

Sara Meddings, Psychology and Psychological Therapies Lead for Recovery and Wellbeing, Sussex Partnership, said, “I have felt inspired and privileged to work so closely with a group of peer trainers and witness so many students develop and learn skills to manage mental health challenges.”

Sussex Partnership has just announced that it is funding the next term of Hastings and Rother Recovery College.

For more information about the courses in Hastings please contact [email protected] or follow on Twitter @SussexRecoveryC

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