What are Recovery Colleges?

Recovery colleges (RCs) provide inclusive educational initiatives designed to support positive mental well-being by offering a variety of courses that help individuals lead meaningful and purposeful lives, despite the presence of mental distress. These courses focus on areas such as self-discovery, skill development, leisure and wellness, vocational support, and learning about mental health treatment options, etc. RCs aim to create a welcoming, stigma-free environment that complements, rather than replaces, clinical mental health treatment.

A New Approach to Post-Secondary Mental Health & Wellness Programming

RCs are unique because they adopt a co-production model, blending the lived experience of individuals with lived experience of mental health challenges (i.e., experts by experience) and professionals, to develop course curriculum. When subject matter experts are needed, RC students have the opportunity to determine who is involved and how they participate. Lastly, RCs aim to influence personal recovery by operationalizing the CHIME framework (Connection, Hope, Identity, Meaning, and Empowerment) through their core principles and practices.

How Did Recovery Colleges Start?

Most RCs exist within mental health community services, but their success in helping people with mental health challenges has led to an exploration of their application in new settings – specifically, in the post-secondary context. Since 2020, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, a mental health hospital with RC experience, has partnered with 10 post-secondary institutions across Ontario, to implement RCs on campus. The goal of RCs in post-secondary institutions is to empower young adults to become experts in their own care and to assist in the co-production of courses that are meaningful and relevant to the student life. Additionally, they help reduce stigma and power imbalances between students and service providers by putting students in the drivers’ seat through co-design and peer support.

How Does the Co-Design Course Allow Students to Shape Mental Health Curriculum?

Once a year, through a Co-Design course, students have the opportunity to come together with peer facilitators to co-produce a mental health curriculum to be offered at their school. Between six and twelve students participate in a course that runs for one hour for six weeks to either create new, or adjust existing courses, to ensure that programming remains relevant to the current student body. Upon inception of the program, students even have the opportunity to rename their Recovery College to something that resonates better with students (i.e., The Community Club, The Wellbeing Learning Hub). Students who participate are compensated for their valuable contributions, whether through monetary payment, recognition on their Co-Curricular or Student Experience Records, to honour their lived experience with mental health and the student life. During the first session of every Co-Design course, a graphic facilitator attends to visually capture the students’ voices and ideas (see below for example).

Do Recovery Colleges Work?

Thus far, RCs have positively impacted student health and wellbeing demonstrated by a significant improvement in self-reported mental and emotional health after RC participation. This impact is driven by the development of coping skills/wellness tools, increased sense of connection and community, and the space for self-reflection. However, the most compelling way to demonstrate the impact of RCs in post-secondary schools comes from the words of the students themselves.

What Students Have to Say

“I really enjoyed the Recovery College workshops. I can’t say enough good things about my experience with Recovery College and how great it was to chat with the other participants about topics in mental health! It made me feel less isolated knowing that we are all going through similar experiences, and the program provided a warm, wholesome and safe environment to discuss topics that hit close to home.” ~ Student

“The recovery college was a great experience in which I worked closely with other students to design courses that we think would be helpful for other students. Through this process I learned a lot about myself, my strengths, weaknesses. I was able to share my experience and listen to others experiences which helps create a sense of community. Additionally, we were provided with great resources that can be accessed at any time to support our mental well being which was a big positive.” ~ Student

Expanding Recovery College Reach

Moving forward, we aim to broaden our reach to continue engaging diverse student populations, including BIPOC students, varsity athletes, and international students, by using a hub and spoke model. Additionally, we are seeking to collaborate with more schools across Canada, leveraging Ontario Shores’ dedicated resources to support the initiative.

How Do I Find a Recovery College?

If you are a student at one of our partnered schools (Ontario Tech University, Durham College, George Brown College, Toronto Metropolitan University, University of Windsor, York University and Brock University), visit their website for further information or contact Ontario Shores on how to get involved in the RC on your campus. Additionally, visit Ontario Shores Post-Secondary Recovery Colleges to learn more about the initiative or if you are interested in implementing an RC on your campus!