About North Ayrshire Wellbeing & Recovery College

The Recovery College is funded by North Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and is delivered and staffed by the mental health charity RAMH (Recovery Across Mental Health)

The college offers educational courses to support mental, physical and emotional wellbeing in shared learning environments in the community.

Courses are designed to enable students to gain an increased:

  • Ability in coping and self-management
  • A Sense of empowerment
  • Sense of connection with others
  • Sense of hope and optimism for the future
  • Develop skills and learning

It’s open to anyone who:

  • lives, works or studies in North Ayrshire
  • is over the age of 16

The college will support you to:

  • identify and build on your own strengths
  • make sense of your experiences
  • take responsibility, where possible, to self-manage your mental health and wellbeing

Recovery College Staff Team

Lainey McKinlay

Recovery College Co-ordinator

  • Lainey.mckinlay@ramh.org
Louise Mathieson

Administrator

  • Louise.Mathieson@ramh.org
Jeanette Allan

Recovery College Manager

  • jeanette.allan@ramh.org
Staff

There are additionally a team of Professional Tutors and a Team of Peer Volunteers.

What is a Recovery college?

Courses are designed to enable students to gain an increased:

  • ability in coping and self-management skills
  • sense of empowerment
  • sense of connectedness with others
  • sense of hope and optimism for the future

What is recovery?

There is no single definition of recovery. The acronym CHIME is a helpful framework: Connectedness, Hope, Identity, Meaning and Empowerment.

NAWARC is keen to develop new partnerships so please get in touch if there is an opportunity for joint working.

It does involve self-management and recovery from a health condition. It’s also about recovering a life worth living and regaining those things that may have been lost due to mental or physical illness or disability.

These could include:

  • Confidence,
  • Purpose,
  • Meaning,
  • Life opportunities,
  • Education,
  • Employment.

 

The ‘Exploring Recovery’ Course explores how we can increase CHIME in our lives.

CHIME

"A highlight for me was when I made the initial phone call. At this call I was listened to and given more information on services and things in the community than I had in months"

Track 1 Student

A recovery college has four principles:

Co-Production

Co-Production courses developed with experts

Education

Learning for self-management

Inclusion

Open to all

Recovery Focus

Focus on wellbeing

Four values:

Celebration

Celebrating success

Empowerment

Taking control

Person Centred

Individual journey

Strengths Based

Building on existing strengths