Innovation Recovery (i-Recover Project)

Closed

Proposed Project: The i-Recover Project seeks to revolutionise mental health services by empowering people with lived experience of mental illness to pioneer education on self-management and ‘Recovery’. The project will adopt a social rather than a clinical approach, which combines the expert knowledge of patients, with the clinical skills of mental health practitioners. Working together these groups co-produce and co-deliver a diverse range of educational courses in response to the needs of other service users and people within the with mental health problems The i-Recover project will be enhanced through the deployment of e-health technologies, including development of Virtual Recovery College which will extend access to education and provide support to those geographically or socially isolated. The project will create a collaborative vehicle for transforming the lives of people living with mental health problems by working to instil hope, optimism and a belief in a better future. The i-Recover Project is proposed by the CAWT Mental Health Strategy Group (CMHSG), which comprises mental health managers/practitioners, working alongside people with lived experience of mental disorders, community/voluntary sector agencies and Further Education colleges. The Scottish Recovery Network have been approached to provide Quality Assurance to the project. This application provides the rationale for investment of €8m in a new Cross Border Recovery College infrastructure which will be underpinned by digital and e-health solutions to support community based, mental health education and recovery. The project will involve 3 hub-and-spoke delivery sites between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The project timeframe will be 5 years. Recovery Colleges use an educational rather than therapeutic approach to support people on their recovery journey. The ultimate goal of recovery colleges is to help people to self-manage and maintain positive mental health. To fully appreciate the potential of recovery orientated education Refer to Appendix 8 Personal Testimony/Appendix 12 Recovery Student Pathway).

Medium