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Recovery Colleges could deliver many of the defined key outcomes within the Cross Governmental Mental Health Outcomes Framework “no health without mental health” (Department of Health, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to critically appraise the existing evidence of recovery educational programmes in mental health and gain a deeper understanding of the processes and outcomes involved.

A broad search strategy looking at recovery educational programmes in mental health was used. The data were gathered from two focus groups each containing five people, one with facilitators and one with students. Thematic analysis was used, following the six stages, recursive process recommended by Braun and Clarke (2006).

The main processes described in recovery programmes were co-production and education. The main outcomes were that recovery programmes led to a reduction in the use of health services, increased opportunities for future employment and a positive impact on staff. The process themes that appeared to emerge were the College ethos and principles, co-production, safety, empowerment and stimulation. The outcome themes that appeared to emerge included increased confidence, motivation and social interaction.

Recovery Colleges appear to benefit both facilitators and students by co-production of a safe, stimulating environment which empowers them: participating in the college benefits facilitators as well as students. This paper is of value to those interested in recovery and education within mental health.

Although limited, there is emerging evidence of the value of peer support for people with mental health issues. We report an evaluation of a training experience introducing intentional peer support (IPS) to people who use mental health services. IPS is a well developed, specific approach in which the central concept of mutuality redefines help as a co‐learning and growing process. This paper aims to explore participants' initial understandings of peer support, assess the impact of the course in terms of subsequent peer support activities and gather reflections from participants concerning what helped and hindered putting IPS into practice.Thirty people attending a five‐day residential course run by the originator of IPS, Shery Mead, were invited to take part in two refresher/follow‐up workshops. An independent evaluator (first author) collected data at the start and end of the residential phase, at two months and at five months. Findings are based on 26 people who provided data on at least two occasions.The course was enthusiastically received and successfully conveyed the fundamentals of IPS. Proportions of people involved in general peer support at the start and end of the evaluation remained similar. At five months, 15 people reported involvement in IPS and one person had set up an IPS group. Being connected to an existing group or network, including maintaining connection with course participants was the most helpful feature in putting IPS into practice. Hindrances included isolation and lack of opportunity. The paper concludes that ongoing support is essential to encourage the post‐course development and practice of IPS.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a profile of Zoe Riley.

Using a case study approach, Zoe provides an account of her background and is then interviewed by Jerome.

Zoe’s account reveals a remarkable resilience developed through adversity but nurtured by the love of her grandparents.

Mental illness surrounded Zoe when she was growing up. Her own mother experienced years of distress. Her grandfather effectively was her father. Despite the childhood adversity and her own teenage problems, she came through it all. These are the stories you read about in textbooks.

Zoe reminds us that people in distress want to find connection. They do not want us sitting there writing notes and not even looking at them!

The authors talk about “wounded healers”. Dr Glenn Roberts said that his own bouts of depression made it easier for him to sit with people in similar turmoil. The value of peer support has been underrated by many.

It is of course a truism to say that everyone’s journey of recovery is unique. The author knows Zoe has already touched the lives of many people. The author is sure she has so much more to contribute.

This paper aims to describe a review and overview of the issue of developing guidance on implementing recovery and supporting organisational change, focused specifically on seeking to clarify the many different contributions that “lived experience” could make to training and workforce development.

The particular focus of our workshop was to clarify the key issues in workforce development, training for a recovery‐focused service and the contribution of “lived experience”. A particular outcome was to emphasise the benefits of collaborative co‐working between people who use services and practitioners at all levels.

A key element of our learning has been in valuing collaborative co‐working and the synergism of personal experience, professional training, research and evaluation.

The paper draws out what lessons have been learned already and sketches guidance for future practice and service development.

The potential transformative role of recovery colleges is well-documented in community mental health settings. The purpose of this paper is to reproduce the principles of the recovery college approach in a forensic setting in Devon.

This paper describes the inaugural two-year development process, from ideas to a functioning service, accessible to patients in both medium secure, low and open settings on the Langdon hospital site, drawing on qualitative accounts from staff and service users involved.

Creating and maintaining an educational space within the forensic environment where people have real choices to learn and work on their recovery is possible and valued by service users and clinicians alike.

Langdon was one of the first forensic hospitals in the UK to introduce a recovery college, and the report of the positive impact and challenges involved may be useful to others setting out on this journey.

To galvanize practical discussion about how to modify psychiatry residency programs to instill the recovery paradigm into students who will become psychiatrists.

A review of relevant literature is undertaken.

Eight suggestions are offered to help residency programs initiate conversations about recovery.

There has been little, if any, discussion about how psychiatry residency programs must change in terms of curriculum and pedagogy.

This paper aims to offer a profile of Julie Leibrich.

After a short introduction by Jerome, Julie provides a short biography and is then interviewed by Jerome. Areas covered in the interview include community care, discovery and sanctuary.

Julie is a psychologist, a poet and someone who has “lived experience” of mental health problems. Julie tells us about the historical problems of implementing community care, here and in New Zealand; she suggests that discrimination towards the mentally ill is more important than stigma; she talks about the importance of “A Gift of Stories” and why she has written her latest book on sanctuary.

The paper illustrates that Julie provides a unique perspective on recovery, though she prefers the term discovery. Her experiences as a research psychologist and as someone with lived experience have informed her writing.

The purpose of this paper is to review the 20 remarkable lives of student accounts published in this journal. These recovery narratives (RNs) are examined first in terms of whether they meet the five elements of the connectedness, hope, identity, meaning and empowerment (CHIME) model of recovery and then in terms of what makes each account remarkable.

Two Excel spreadsheets were created. One had each author’s name and the five elements of the CHIME model, the other the features of a remarkable life.

All 20 accounts fulfilled the criteria for the CHIME model, independently validating this model of recovery. Hence, each account showed evidence of connectedness, hope, identity, meaning and empowerment. A number of additional characteristics stood out from the accounts such as the importance of motherhood and of education.

All 20 accounts were only reviewed by the two authors, who may be subject to bias. To reduce this, the first author did the bulk of the ratings. This paper shows the importance of education for recovery.

Some 15/20 accounts reported problems with mental health services, mainly around waiting lists. Must mental health always remain a Cinderella service?

This is the first attempt to synthesise this particular set of recovery narratives, entitled remarkable lives. These accounts show the richness of the recovery journeys embarked on by many sufferers and these are just drawn from one University. Like the authors of these stories, we too as recovery specialists have much to learn from their inspiring accounts.