Abstract
Objective: Recovery Colleges have been widely implemented across the UK as part of the agenda to implement recovery-oriented practice within mental health services. Previous research has highlighted the impact of attending a Recovery College on students, who report greater wellbeing and endorsement of recovery principles. Initial research on staff indicates that they may also experience changes in attitude following Recovery College attendance. However, little is known about how clinicians who provide Recovery College courses experience this new role, which involves facilitating psychoeducational courses on different aspects of mental health and wellbeing alongside peer workers. This study aimed to explore clinician’s roles within Recovery Colleges.
Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 Recovery College staff across two sites. Data was analysed using inductive thematic analysis.
Results: Three themes were developed from the data; Doing what I’ve always done, Embracing change: safe uncertainty and Uncertainty working with peer trainers. These themes reflect the heterogenous experiences of clinicians and how they experienced their role as Practitioner Trainers, as well as the different ways Recovery College working was conceptualised.
Conclusions: The different ways participants experienced their role may be related to the different stages of change that respective Recovery Colleges are at in terms of implementation. The findings have implications for how Practitioner Trainers are supported in their role, as well as how co-production is planned and implemented. "