Finding connection “while everything is going to crap”: experiences in Recovery Colleges during the COVID-19 pandemic

Research Involvement and Engagement

Research

Georgia Black¹  Elizabeth Lin¹  Gail Bellissimo¹  Jordana Rovet¹  Anna Di Giandomenico¹  Rowen Shier¹  Sam Gruszecki¹  Holly Harris¹  Sophie Soklaridis¹ 

[1] Department of Education, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 1025 Queen St. West, M6J 1H1, Toronto, ON, Canada;

关键词: Recovery College;    Pandemic;    Mental health;    Co-design;    Participatory action research;    Inclusion;    Personal recovery;    COVID-19;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40900-023-00489-4

 received in 2023-04-27, accepted in 2023-08-18,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundRecovery Colleges (RCs) are mental health and well-being education centres where people come together and learn skills that support their wellness. Co-production, co-learning and transformative education are fundamental to RCs. People with lived experience are recognized as experts who partner with health professionals in the design and actualization of educational programming. The pandemic has changed how RCs operate by necessitating a shift from in-person to virtual offerings. Given the relational ethos of RCs, it is important to explore how the experiences of RC members and communities were impacted during this time. To date, there has been limited scholarship on this topic.MethodsIn this exploratory phase of a larger project, we used participatory action research to interview people who were accessing, volunteering and/or working in RCs across Canada. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-nine individuals who provided insights on what is important to them about RC programming.ResultsOur study was conducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, participants elucidated how their involvement in RCs was impacted by pandemic related restrictions. The results of this study demonstrate that RC programming is most effective when it: (1) is inclusive; (2) has a “good vibe”; and (3) equips people to live a fuller life.ConclusionsThe pandemic, despite its challenges, has yielded insights into a possible evolution of the RC model that transcends the pandemic-context. In a time of great uncertainty, RCs served as safe spaces where people could redefine, pursue, maintain or recover wellness on their own terms.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 1