Students' experiences of Recovery Colleges. V1.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How do past students understand the influence of the Recovery College in their recovery?
IRAS ID
233069
Contact name
Holly Thompson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Surrey
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 25 days
Research summary
Recovery Colleges take an educational rather than a clinical approach to helping people with mental health problems. A referral to a Recovery College is not needed from a mental health professional. Students can contact a College directly, can choose which courses they participate in, and might become involved in designing and delivering courses. Recovery Colleges started in the UK in 2009. Given they are relatively new , research on their effectiveness is still growing. Research so far has found that Recovery Colleges have a positive impact (e.g. increased well-being and the achievement of life goals). Also, research suggests Recovery Colleges can produce cost savings to mental health services because they can reduce demand for such services. At present, no studies have explored what aspects of Recovery Colleges might contribute to their effectiveness in the longer term. In order to understand this, the current study will explore the experience and perspectives of students one year after attending a Recovery College. This study would add to current evidence as it would provide information about the perceived longer term benefits of attending a Recovery College and student perceptions of what aspects contributed to this. This information could help in designing Recovery Colleges to maximise their usefulness for students. The aim is to interview 15 participants who were previous students of the Sussex Recovery College who are also engaged with secondary care services. Potential participants have already been contacted by the Recovery College and have agreed to be contacted regarding future research. Interviews (which last up to 90 minutes) will take place at either one of the Recovery College campuses or at a location convenient to them which may be their home.
(The term 'student' refers to those attending a course at the Recovery College and does not refer to higher education E.g. university students).REC name
London - Chelsea Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0037
Date of REC Opinion
16 Jan 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion