Exploring the impact of the recovery academy: a qualitative study of Recovery College experiences
| Pages | 162-171 |
| Published date | 11 July 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-12-2015-0052 |
| Date | 11 July 2016 |
| Author | Elisabeth Zabel,Grace Donegan,Kate Lawrence,Paul French |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Mental health education |
Exploring the impact of the recovery
academy: a qualitative study of Recovery
College experiences
Elisabeth Zabel, Grace Donegan, Kate Lawrence and Paul French
Elisabeth Zabel and
Grace Donegan are both based
at Psychosis Research Unit,
Greater Manchester West
Mental Health NHS Foundation
Trust, Prestwich, UK.
Kate Lawrence is an Assistant
Clinical Psychologist at
Psychosis Research Unit,
Greater Manchester West
Mental Health NHS Foundation
Trust, Prestwich, UK.
Paul French is based at
Psychosis Research Unit,
Greater Manchester West
Mental Health NHS Foundation
Trust, Prestwich, UK and
Institute of Psychology, Health
and Society, University of
Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –Recovery Colleges strive to assist individuals in their journey of recovery and help organisations to
become more recovery focused. The evidence base surrounding Recovery Colleges is still in its infancy and
further research is required to investigate their effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to explore the subjective
experience of people involved with a Recovery College: “The Recovery Academy”based in Greater Manchester.
Design/methodology/approach –A qualitative study using data collected from four focus groups of
Recovery Academy students who have either lived experience of mental health problems, are health
professionals or are family members or carers. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings –Four main themes emerged from discussing experiences of the Recovery Academy and its
courses: ethos of the Recovery Academy; personal and organisational impact; value of co-production; and
barriers to engagement and impact. The Recovery Academy can have a positive impact on the lives of
students who attend the courses and offer benefits to the organisation in which it is run.
Originality/value –Recovery Colleges are gaining large interest nationally. However, to date there is a
paucity of research on Recovery Colleges. This is the first paper to be presented for publication specifically on
the Recovery Academy. The findings of this study suggest Recovery Colleges have the potential to positively
impact students and facilitate recovery oriented organisational change. The findings can add valuable data to
the emerging Recovery College evidence base.
Keywords Mental health, Thematic analysis, Recovery College, Focus group, Recovery
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Recovery refers to the process through which people find ways of living meaningful lives, with or
without the continuing presence of mental health symptoms (Shepherd et al., 2008; Mental
Health Network NHS Confederation, 2012). In 2011, the Department of Health commissioned
the “Implementing Recovery through Organisational Change (ImROC) programme”which aims
to assist services to better support mental health clients’recovery and help organisations refocus
their services around recovery principles (Mental Health Network NHS Confederation, 2012).
The development of a “Recovery College”is one of ImROC’s ten organisational challenges as
part of a drive towards more recovery oriented mental health services and thus provided impetus
for the emergence of Recovery Colleges throughout the UK (Mental Health Network NHS
Confederation, 2012).
Recovery Colleges adopt an educational paradigm thereby shifting emphasis from symptom
reduction and relapse prevention towards individuals’strengths, personal goals and aspirations
as well as developing an understanding of mental health difficulties and self-management,
Received 2 December 2015
Revised 4 March 2016
Accepted 7 March 2016
Declaration of interest: the authors
alone are responsible for the
contents of this paper and report
no declaration of interest.
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THE JOURNAL OF MENTALHEALTH TRAINING, EDUCATION AND PRACTICE
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VOL. 11 NO. 3 2016, pp.162-171, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1755-6228 DOI 10.1108/JMHTEP-12-2015-0052
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