Mayo Recovery College, the first college of its kind in Ireland, will open its doors to the people of Mayo and beyond this autumn. The college aims to expand the mental health services towards the building of a greater quality of life for service users by committing to give equal attention to the personal or lived experience of people with mental health difficulties, their family members/friends, and professional expertise; and empowering the community to accommodate human distress and ensure full citizenship for all service users. In essence, the recovery college will recognise the equal importance of both professional expertise and lived experience.
Mayo Recovery College uses a collaborative approach based on sound adult education principles as a key tool to influence and empower personal recovery. The intention is to place education at the service of recovery. Originating in the United States, this concept has been embraced in the United Kingdom, where there are now seven recovery colleges. The primary goal of Ireland’s first recovery college is to create a culture of recovery, and to empower people with mental health difficulties, families, friends, and the broader community to improve quality of life and to promote community involvement through the provision of un-biased, co-produced, and co-delivered learning and dialogue.
The courses, seminars, and events are designed to put people back in control of their lives, helping each person to identify goals and ambitions while giving the confidence, skills, and support to access opportunities. The courses are open to all adults, including people with mental health challenges, families and friends, professionals, and the community.
Mayo Recovery College is a partnership project between the HSE and RehabCare and is supported by GENIO; other parties include the GMIT and The Learning Curve Institute. To find out more about Mayo Recovery College contact Jutta Kirrkamm on 086 029 4901 or email [email protected]
