About the Recovery Academy

The Trust’s Recovery Academy provides a The Curverange of free educational resources for people with mental health and substance misuse problems, their families and carers as well as health care professionals.

All of our resources focus on supporting people with their recovery and promote good health and wellbeing. The resources are useful if you are looking to increase your knowledge and understanding of mental health, improve your mental wellbeing, or simply want to learn something new.

The resources are co-written and co-delivered by professionals and people with mental health or substance misuse problems in order to recognise with equal importance both professional expertise and lived experience and promote our philosophy of shared learning.

The Recovery Academy offers resources to:

  • Anyone who is experiencing mental health or substance misuse problems
  • Their supporters (family, friends and loved ones)
  • Trust staff, volunteers and students on placement
  • Health Care Professionals

Resources currently on offer include: a range of courses categorised for easy access; self-help materials; self-help videos; e-learning packages and radio podcasts.

If you are a member of GMMH staff or a GMMH Volunteer you can access all of these resources via your Learning Hub account. Just click on the Recovery Academy Leaf to use the products on offer and book on any of the available courses.

If you are a service user or carer, please click here to access the Recovery Academy’s external website. Here you will be able to explore everything we have on offer this term, create a Recovery Academy account or login to an existing account. If you have any problems accessing or using the system please ring 0161 358 1771 or email recoveryacademy@gmmh.nhs.uk.

If you are a member of GMMH staff or volunteer, or a professional from another organisation, looking for accredited training in Motivational Interviewing, Behavioural Activation, or Group Work Skills, please click here. You will be directed to the Recovery Academy’s website where you can explore the aims of each course, available dates and find out how to make a booking.  

If you are a service looking to source Level 2 Peer Mentorship training for your lived experience workforce that is fully compliant with the new Peer Support Competency Framework, please get in touch at recoveryacademy@gmmh.nhs.uk / 0161 358 1771.

If you are another organisation looking to source bespoke training in mental health and/or train Healthy Minds for Healthy Lives Buddies within your organisation, please click here for more information about what’s on offer. 

Overarching Aim of the Academy

The Trust Recovery Collaborative was formed in 2010 with a remit to support the ongoing transformation of our mental health and substance misuse services from services which focused on reducing people’s symptoms, to those which focus on rebuilding lives. The Collaborative identified two main work streams. The first was in relation to transforming traditional assessment processes which focused entirely on people’s problems. The introduction of the Recovery Star with a focus on people’s strengths and goals became a priority, and the work continues to integrate this in to existing CPA processes.

The second work stream was to focus on education and the development of our own Recovery Academy. One of the key outcomes from the DoH 2011 Mental Health Strategy - No Health Without Mental Health - is to enable people to gain a greater ability to manage their own lives. The Centre for Mental Health and NHS Confederation Mental Health Network (June 2012) argue that a Recovery College/Academy is central to driving recovery focused organisational change because it uses an educational paradigm to complement traditional treatment approaches.

Therefore, the overarching aim of GMMH’s Academy is to provide everyone - service users, families and carers as well as professionals with the learning opportunities they need to be able to manage/promote recovery, health & wellbeing.

Core Principles of the Academy

1) There will be co-production at every level and every stage. GMMH is committed to the following:

  • Equal consultation with people with lived experience (including service users, families and carers) and professionals in planning and developing the Academy and its prospectuses.
  • Actively engaging with people with lived experience and professionals in the development, delivery, and evaluation of education programmes.
  • Supporting tutors to gain the confidence and skills they need to be able to truly co-facilitate learning events.
  • The setting up of a Trainer Bank for people with lived experience to join so that they receive fair pay for their contribution to the development, delivery, and evaluation of education programmes.
  • Running a Trainer Bank for people with lived experience to join so that they receive fair pay for their contribution to the development, delivery, and evaluation of education programmes.

2) Providing state of the art, purpose built educational training facility which houses the Academy on the Prestwich site. This building also accommodates our existing Knowledge and Library services. Whilst this building provides the Academy with a base, and excellent resources to support the delivery of education programmes, we are certain that the Academy will continue to provide satellite services in full recognition of the geographical spread of our services.

3) The Academy will operate on college principles. Students (from whatever background) will be able to select courses from a prospectus. There is a Student Charter describing what a person can expect to gain, and what the Academy expects from them in terms of attendance and behaviour.

4) The Academy is for everyone. Professionals, service users, families and carers can be both tutors and students. The idea is to learn from one another and recognise with equal importance both professional expertise and lived experience.

5) Individuals will be able to access one to one support as well as group learning in order to define and fulfil their hopes and aspirations. We will make links with local colleges, education and employment initiatives, and employers to ensure students can access further opportunities and fulfil their long-term ambitions.

6) The Academy is not a substitute for treatment. It will complement treatment/therapy by helping people to understand their problems and learn how to manage these better in order to pursue their aspirations.

7) The Academy is not a substitute for mainstream colleges. It will promote participation and citizenship, and provide routes to further education, training and/or employment.

8) The Academy will reflect recovery principles in all aspects of its culture and operation. The physical environment and language used will portray messages of hope, empowerment, possibility, and aspirations. Success will be celebrated with all those involved.

As a patient

As a service user, relative or carer using our services, sometimes you may need to turn to someone for help, advice, and support. 

Find resources for carers and service users  Contact the Trust