What is a recovery college?
Recovery colleges are nonclinical-based education and training programs offered to people who have experienced mental health and/or addiction challenges, and who feel ready to set goals, gain skills and make social connections as part of their personal journey.
In keeping with an internationally adopted approach to recovery-oriented education, the courses offered at the CAMH recovery college will be:
- co-created and co-led by people with lived experience of mental health and/or addiction challenges and/or social services use
- offered free of charge in the community, including CAMH
- adaptable to local needs and resources
- open to people who have experienced mental health and/or addiction challenges and/or social services use, their family members, friends and health care providers, when appropriate.
CAMH’s vision for the recovery college
The CAMH recovery college will create an empowering space for students through embracing co-creation, power-sharing and the valuing of lived experience of people with mental health, addiction and service use histories.
The recovery college offers a transformative opportunity for students to learn, work with peers and allies and, in many cases, become teachers themselves. This will allow people to identify and develop their own strengths and confidence, while building skills, and a sense of hope and possibility.
The recovery college experience will create engagement in the community through achieving goals that are meaningful to each student, which could include returning to school, be it college or university, finding or returning to work, or achieving other meaningful goals.
Learn more
Learn more about our upcoming courses and workshops and how to register.