What is a Recovery College?

When people first hear the term Recovery College, they often imagine a hospital or a clinical service.  But a recovery college is something very different – and much more personally empowering.

A recovery college is essentially an educational space, not a medical one.  It’s built on the idea that recovery in mental health is about personal learning, growth, connection, and rebuilding a meaningful life. It’s holistic and not just about reducing symptoms.

Recovery Colleges help people see that they are much more than a diagnosis – that they are a whole person with strengths, stories, struggles, talents, and a future that cannot be defined by a label.

So…….. what exactly is a Recovery College?

1.       Recovery colleges offer free courses and workshops designed to support people with mental health challenges, or for anyone who is simply looking to better understand themselves.

These courses focus on:

·       Understanding mental health and different conditions

·       Building coping skills

·       Improving confidence and self-esteem

·       Managing stress and emotions

·       Developing life skills

·       Exploring identity, purpose, and hope.

Just like any other college, there’s a timetable, a brochure, and a choice of classes. 

The key difference? Students choose what they want to learn based on their own recovery goals.

2.       Recovery colleges are all about Education, not Treatment…….. and having fun

One of the most important things to understand is that a Recovery College is not therapy and it’s not a clinical service.  You don’t get “referred for treatment”.  Instead, you enrol as a student.

This shift in language is powerful.  You’re not seen as a patient with problems to be fixed – you’re seen as a person with strengths, potential, and the ability to learn new ways of managing life.

Courses might include topics like:

·       Understanding anxiety or depression

·       Living well with trauma

·       Food & Mood

·       Sleep and wellbeing

·       Confidence building

·       Creative expression, such as singing, art or journaling

The focus is on tools, knowledge, and shared learning

3.       Lived Experience and co creation is at the Heart of everything

Most of recovery college’s staff and volunteers have personal experience of mental health challenges and many courses are co-created and co- delivered by students.  

This creates a different atmosphere, with people all genuinely learning together and somewhere where lived experience is valued just as highly as professional training.  This approach also helps reduce stigma around mental illness and builds trust.

Students at Stepping Stones often say this is the first place they’ve felt truly understood.

4.       Recovery colleges like Stepping Stones provide a real community to connect with

Recovery Colleges also help tackle one of the biggest challenges in mental health: Isolation

When people attend courses, they meet others who may have similar experiences.  There’s a sense of connection, belonging, and mutual support.  For many, it’s the first step back into community life after a difficult period.

It can also be a stepping stone towards:

·       Volunteering

·       New and lasting friendships

·       Peer support roles

5.       We understand that recovery means different things to different people

In this context, recovery doesn’t always mean the challenges completely disappear.  It means learning how to live a satisfying, hopeful, and meaningful life – with healthier coping strategies and skills to help you along the way. So a Recovery College supports people to:

·       Understand themselves better

·       Discover what helps and what doesn’t

·       Build confidence to take small steps forward

·       Regain a sense of control and choice

It’s about moving from “what’s wrong with me?” to “what’s strong in me and helps me live well?”

6.       Above all, a recovery college like Stepping Stones is a place where new chapters begin……………

Walking through the doors of a Recovery College – can feel like a small step.  But small steps are often where big change begins.

Here, people rediscover strengths they thought they’d lost or never knew they had!  They find words for feelings they’ve previously carried alone.  They realise they are not the only one.  Confidence grows quietly.  Hope returns gently.  And little by little, life starts to feel possible again.

A Recovery College doesn’t promise a perfect future – it offers something more real and more powerful: the chance to learn, to connect, and to believe in yourself again.

Because recovery isn’t about going back to who you were before.  It’s about discovering who you are now – and who you still have the potential to become.

And sometimes, all it takes to begin is signing up for a course and walking into a room where people welcome you warmly and see you as you are.