Online Recovery College Coming Soon

May 6, 2021

Innovation Recovery College goes Digital

Part of the EU INTERREG VA (CAWT) Innovation Recovery (I.R) Project

The EU INTERREG VA – Innovation Recovery Project team are delighted to announce the launch of the online Recovery College MyMentalHealthRecovery.com on the 1st of June 2021. The online college will be jointly launched Minister for Health, Robin Swann (NI) and Minister for Mental Health and Older People (Ireland), Mary Butler.

We are also delighted that Professor Siobhan O’Neil (NI Mental Health Champion) will deliver the keynote address as part of the launch. Siobhan will be will be joined a number of other advocates for Mental Health Recovery from both sides of the border who will be endorsing the new initiative.

Special thanks to our funder the Special EU Programmes Body who have supported the Innovation Recovery Project as part of the EU INTERREG VA Programme.

MyMentalHealthRecovery.Com – Online Recovery College

The online platform will bring digital enabled Mental Health and Wellbeing education to a wider audience of people living within Northern Ireland and the border counties of the Republic of Ireland. Mymentalhealthrecovery.com will complement and add value to the broad range of courses which are currently delivered via Zoom and on a face to face basis as part of the Innovation Recovery College.

EU INTERREG VA – Innovation Recovery Project

The CAWT cross border Innovation Recovery project is a large scale, cross border strategic initiative, funded through the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body, and match funded by the Departments of Health in Ireland and Northern Ireland. For more information on the SEUPB please visit www.seupb.eu.
The €7.6m cross border Innovation Recovery aims to empower and enable people to take greater control over their own mental and emotional wellbeing by providing education as a route to recovery.
Mental Health Recovery education is based on the principles of optimism, hope, opportunity and control, aiming to shift mind-sets from a focus on illness towards mental wellness and a belief in the ability to cope with the stresses and setbacks in life.

Three cross border ‘hub and spoke’ Recovery Colleges have been established across 12 counties in the Ireland/Northern Ireland. These include the following:-

- Area 1 West: Derry/L’Derry, Letterkenny, Strabane and West Donegal
- Area 2 South: Cavan, Monaghan, Sligo, Leitrim and Fermanagh
- Area 3 East: Belfast, Armagh, Newry, Louth

The Innovation Recovery project partners are the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, the Western Health and Social Care Trust and the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (Northern Ireland); the HSE (Republic of Ireland) and the Public Health Agency and the Health and Social Care Board (Northern Ireland).

As at March 2021, the Innovation Recovery College has delivered a diverse range of courses to over 3000 people including those with lived experience, carers, and health professionals.
The Innovation Recovery College places a strong emphasis on hearing from the voices of people who have actually experienced mental health issues and employs 12 people with lived experience as Peer Educators as part of the project. These staff are well placed to support their fellow peers on their recovery journey and through the college experience.
The IR Project wide range of courses from prevention to early intervention as well as supporting people on their journey to wellness through self-management. All courses are courses, co-designed and co-delivered by people with lived experience of mental health difficulties alongside those with professional experience and knowledge.

What is Mymentalhealthrecovery.com – Online Recovery College

Mymentalhealthrecovery.com online Recovery College is a software application for Mental Health eLearning which will facilitate administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation and delivery of a diverse range of educational courses and training programmes.
Mymentalhealthrecovery.com will be accessible on multiple devices to include laptops, tablets, PCs and smartphones, facilitating a modern, flexible learning management system for managing/delivering content to users, alongside a platform for delivering courses and plans to users in relation to mental health education, wellness and recovery.
Types of courses to be delivered include; Living Well with Anxiety/Depression, Getting a Good Nights Sleep, Building positive Self Esteem, Living well with Bi-Polar, etc

Benefits of Mymentalhealthrecovery.com (VLMS)

Expand the reach of the Innovation Recovery College – The online Recovery College will enable remote online learning by people who do not traditionally engage in Recovery Colleges due to either personal reasons related to their illness or geographical inaccessibility such as people living in rural communities.
Quality eLearning – tailored and bespoke online education and training will be offered on a diverse range of mental health topics aiming to support improved self-management, maintenance of wellness and ultimately recovery from mental health conditions.
Co-produced Courses – Courses will be co-produced and co-designed by people with lived experience in partnership with health and social care professionals.
Immersive Learning – Course material will be creative and dynamic aiming to engage learners in an interactive way in their own learning.
Inclusivity – Online courses will be open to anyone who has an interest in mental wellbeing irrespective of background or health status. People with lived experience of mental illness are included in the same way as health professionals, carers, teachers and other health professionals or members of the public.
Empowerment through Education – Recovery College courses are not therapy, they are based in education aiming to help people tap into their own personal resilience and resourcefulness, become experts in their own self-care and work toward achieving their goals and ambitions.
Cost effectiveness –online e-learning can offer cost effective delivery of education due to reduction in course administration, travel costs, venue hire, etc.

Benefits of MymentalHealthRecovery.com to Recovery College Students

Improved Accessibility – Students can access courses on multiple devices, iPads, Laptops, Mobile Phones in the comfort of their own homes avoiding the need to travel to training venues.
Students can learn at their own pace – Courses can be taken at any time and at a pace suitable to students.
Customised Learning – Students can be selective about the specific areas they wish to focus their learning on, skipping material which is not relevant to them.

Further Information:

Cooperation and Working Together

Co-operation and Working Together (CAWT) is the partnership of the statutory Health and Social Care Services in the Irish Border Region. The partnership comprises the NI Health and Social Care Board, the NI Public Health Agency, the Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT), the Southern Health and Social Care Trust (SHSCT) and the Health Services Executive (HSE) in the Republic of Ireland.
CAWT facilitates cross border collaboration on behalf of the Departments of Health in Northern Ireland and the Republic as well as the partner organisations. CAWT has 30 years’ experience of delivery of large scale cross border projects within health and social care.

Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB)

The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) is a North/South Implementation Body sponsored by the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in Ireland. It is responsible for managing two EU Structural Funds Programmes, PEACE IV and INTERREG VA which are designed to enhance cross-border cooperation, promote reconciliation and create a more peaceful and prosperous society. The Programmes operate within a clearly defined area including Northern Ireland, the Border Region of Ireland and in the case of INTERREG VA, Western Scotland.
The INTERREG VA Programme has a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) contribution of €240 million and aims to address the economic and social problems which result from the existence of borders.
For more information on the SEUPB please visit www.seupb.eu