Sara Zabeen

Recovery college as a transition space in the journey towards recovery: An Australian qualitative study

Eimear Muir-Cochrane, Sharon Lawn, John Coveney, Sara Zabeen, Brenton Kortman, Candice Oster

College of Nursing and Health Sciences, College of Medicine and Public Health

Research outputContribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Recovery colleges are formal learning programs that aim to support people with a lived experience of mental illness. In this study, we aimed to explore the experiences of participants in a pilot recovery college that opened in Adelaide, South Australia, in 2016. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted involving interviews with learners (n = 8) and focus groups with lived experience facilitators (course facilitators with a lived experience of mental illness, n = 5), Clinician facilitators (mental health service staff facilitators, n = 4), and care coordinators (staff providing case management support, n = 5). Three main themes (hope, identity, and the recovery college as a transition space) and two subthemes (recovery college experience and outcomes) were identified. The results showed that the recovery college provided a transition space for shifting learners’ identities from patient to student, facilitated by the experiences and outcomes of the recovery college, providing hope for the future. This study highlights the importance of providing mentally healthy and non-stigmatizing learning environments to promote and cement recovery for people with a lived experience of mental illness.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)523-530
Number of pages8
JournalNursing and Health Sciences
Volume21
Issue number4
Early online date8 Sept 2019
Publication statusPublished – Dec 2019
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Licence: In Copyright

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