Starting from Scratch: Co-production with dramatherapy in a Recovery College (Critchley, Power, Sandford, 2019)

Critchley Andy Dokter Ditty Odell-Miller Helen Power Nicki Sandford Stephen. 

Dramatherapy 2019;40(2): 63. 

Available online at this link 

This piece of writing has focused on the first stage of creating a co-production arts wing of the Recovery College and is written with the intention of demonstrating the practical value of a dramatherapy and ‘experts by experience’ collaboration. It includes an introduction to ‘recovery’ and the contemporary NHS guidelines for a Recovery College. The first four classes of co-production in action with a dramatherapist are described with feedback from students. Followed by a sharing of the evolution of this process into three new courses leading to a workshop, performance and exhibition on World Mental Health Day. It also includes a BASIC Ph evaluation analysis of group work through the three courses run in collaboration with a dramatherapist at the Recovery College. The following questions are addressed by the evaluation.