Throughout the world, Recovery Colleges are transforming lives by providing an educational, socially based pathway for people who want to learn more about wellbeing.
It provides ways to reclaim lives that may have been impacted by mental health challenges and/or alcohol and other drugs.
The WA Recovery College Alliance (WARCA) is a unique partnership of 15 organisations to bring Recovery College courses to the entire state of Western Australia.
On behalf of the WA Government the Mental Health Commission, WARCA brings this innovative approach in mental health recovery to meet the needs of metropolitan and rural, regional and remote communities.
The Recovery Model
The educational approach to recovery is powerful. Some of the unique benefits of the Recovery Model are:
In comparison, the existing mental health therapeutic model focuses on problems, deficits and symptoms. It maintains power imbalances and reinforces the notion that expertise lies within professionals.
Recovery College principles
WARCA’s principles are based on Perkins and Pepper’s Recovery Model (2017). This means that people who are experiencing mental health challenges or Alcohol or Other Drugs (AOD) dependency actively participate in the co-production of a course that will help them improve their functioning and wellbeing.
Alliance partners
The WA Recovery College Alliance was formed by 15 Alliance partners including HelpingMinds as the Alliance lead, Recovery College WA Ltd, Women’s Health and Family Services (WHFS), Bay of Isles Community Outreach Inc (BOICO), Curtin University, Hope Community Services, MIND Australia, Palmerston Association Inc, Richmond Wellbeing, Rise Inc, Alcohol and Other Drug Consumer and Community Coalition (AODCCC), The Salvation Army Homelessness Services, COMHWA, Pathways Southwest and Community Options Australia.
