Leeds Recovery College

Recovery College is still here to help

The current situation with Coronavirus is really challenging for everyone. Our priority is keeping all our students, facilitators and those who work and support us as safe and well as we can.

Given recent government guidance we have taken the decision to suspend our current course time table. This means that all courses, workshops and group meetings which have been planned by Leeds Recovery College to be held for the remainder of this academic year have now been cancelled. (These are for courses running from now until July 2020).

If you have any questions please email us on: Leedsrecoverycollege.lypft@nhs.net. You can also follow our Trust on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with the latest news and advice about staying well.

Supporting recovery at home: online courses

An Online Recovery College is available where you can access a range of online educational courses and resources. This has been designed and built by NHS Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys Trust and all the courses provided are free to access. Simply click on log in to sign up for a free account.

You can also access the Intro to RC course and Coronavirus Key facts without creating an account or providing any details if you would prefer.

Introduction to Recovery: learn at home packs

Intro to Recovery (Learn at home pack1)

Look at how others describe ‘recovery’
Consider your thoughts on what is important for recovery
Think about what things may help to support recovery

Intro to Recovery (Learn at home pack2)

Thinking about mental health as a continuum
Considering the idea of a wellness focus to recovery
Exploring what is important to you and your recovery

Newsletters

Please also keep in touch with our regular email newsletters – you can sign up by emailing us or simply take a look at the latest newsletters here.

Sunday 29 March newsletter

Sunday 5 April newsletter

Sunday 12 April newsletter

Sunday 19 April newsletter

Sunday 26 April newsletter

Sunday 17 May newsletter

Sunday 7 June newsletter

Videos from the team

Week 7 of coronavirus lockdown – helpful advice about how to cope and a look ahead to Mental Health Awareness Week on the theme of kindness and how it affects your mental health for the better:

Watch week 6 lockdown video

Getting back to normal – what we are planning at present

We will be closely following government and NHS advice and will endeavour to return to normal as soon as we are advised it is okay to do so. This may mean re-starting our courses from September 2020, with the launch of our new prospectus.

If you have already booked / enrolled on a course that’s been cancelled – we would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused and please be reassured that depending on current guidance we will be making plans to deliver the course or workshop as soon as we are able. We will contact you with the new date and ask if you would still like to able to attend.

If you were planning to attend an introductory session or make a new course booking – please check our web page at www.leedsandyorkpft.nhs.uk for updates on the current situation and news of when we are able to resume our course delivery.

Where you can get help

The Mindwell website is a single ‘go to’ place for information about mental health in Leeds funded locally by the NHS. There is also some helpful information about coronavirus and managing your mental health.

The website can give you quick and easy access to:

clear, accurate information about services in Leeds including support you can access without a referral
information about a range of common mental health problems such as anxiety, stress and low moods
self-help tools and techniques including downloadable resources, videos and animations.

MindMate is a Leeds-based website for younger people, their families and the professionals who support them. It covers emotional wellbeing and mental health issues and offers information about where support is available.

If you, a friend or a member of your family is struggling

An online and downloadable resource is avaiable from Mindwell which will help guide people in crisis through the different kinds of support available including help from the NHS, third sector support and telephone helplines.

The Leeds Crisis Card lists lots of useful support groups in the Leeds area that provide help with a range of issues.

Who we are and what we do

We offer a range of training courses that focus on developing the knowledge and strength to overcome life’s challenges and live mentally and physically well. Like any other college, we have a prospectus of courses that you can sign up to. What makes us difference is that people with lived experience of mental health challenges have helped to design and deliver these courses in partnership with health professionals, education providers and trainers.

What makes us different?

We encourage people who with experience of mental health challenges and recovery to work with professionals from mental health care, education and community organisations to co-design and co-deliver the courses we run.

By working together we get the best of both worlds, the breadth of professional expertise and the depth of understanding. This means our courses are packed full of useful and relevant information which we hope will help you learn more about mental health and find ways to live better.

Watch former teacher and now WRAP Course Facilitator Julie Booth, talking about her own experiences of attending Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP), and now as a course facilitator with the Recovery College, how she is passing on what she has learned to others.

How do I get involved?

It doesn’t matter if you have a diagnosis or not, our courses are open to all adults who live, work or study in Leeds and who would like to improve their mental health or personal understanding of mental health problems.

We deliver our courses across the city, making the most of community hubs and local centres. Our venues include Lovel Park, Stocks Hill and Vale Circles Hubs.

Courses run from September to March and April to July.

As part of the enrolment process students will be invited to complete an equality monitoring form and a Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery (QPR). This is normally done in the Introduction to Recovery College workshop, however if a student cannot attend an introduction session they will be asked to complete the form and questionnaire in the first session of the course they are attending.

Students may also be asked to complete a QPR at the end of some particular courses.

Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP)

Wellness Recovery Action Planning or WRAP is a structured course that will help you to consider what is important for your health and your wellbeing and develop practical strategies for regaining and sustaining your wellness.

It was developed in 1997 by a group of people in the USA, particularly Mary Ellen Copeland who had personal experience of mental health, to help manage some of the mental health experiences that the group shared. WRAP is now used worldwide by people who are dealing with all kinds of health and life challenges.

To find out more about WRAP and how it can help you, watch this short video.

WRAP does not necessarily replace other treatments, however it is evidence based and has greatly improved the recovery and long term health of many people.

Courses on WRAP are regularly run by the Leeds Recovery College. These courses encourage focussing on individual strengths instead of perceived faults or failures and benefit people with all different health needs.

We also encourage people who have developed their own plans to share their learning by co-facilitating and supporting future WRAP courses.

For more information on WRAP visit: https://copelandcenter.com