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Tower Hamlets Recovery College

Tower Hamlets Recovery College supports wellbeing and mental health recovery through education and learning. Tower Hamlets Recovery College is for everyone. You can register as a student if you live, work or study in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. 

The Recovery College is open for three 10 week terms a year (Autumn, Spring and Summer) and we deliver at least 20 courses per term. Class sizes are kept to a maximum of 10-12 people so that everybody can have a positive learning experience.  Our premises at 86 Old Montague Street provide office space for our staff and tutors, and a library and study area for our students.  
All our educational workshops and courses are co-designed and co-delivered by trained tutors who have lived experience of mental health challenges and trained tutors who work in mental health and wellbeing services. We call this co-production. 

Courses cover a range of areas that might support recovery; including tools and approaches to gain a deeper understanding of yourself, your experiences and the experience of others, education about mental and physical health, helpful tips on practical life skills, how to get more involved in educational and vocational opportunities, how to be a more recovery orientated practitioner and how to support other people’s recovery journeys. 

Everybody learns from one another because courses are co-received by students who have experienced mental health difficulties and students who have not. This co-learning adds to the richness of the educational experience.

Please click on the link to the current prospectus to find out more about what we have on offer this coming term. 

Enrolling on our courses
Once you have registered with Tower Hamlets Recovery College and have seen a course that you are interested in attending you can enrol by: 

  • Completing the Tower Hamlets Recovery College Enrolment Form on this webpage and e-mailing it to elft.thrc@nhs.net or
  • Phoning the college on 020 7426 2449 to enrol by telephone or
  • Coming to Tower Hamlets Recovery College to enrol in person or
  • Attending an enrolment day at The Tower Hamlets Recovery College, 86 Old Montague Street, London E1 5NN at the beginning of term 
  • You will need to complete an enrolment form each time you register for a new course or courses.

Course venues
We hold our courses in a variety of community and health related venues in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets so that we can provide access to all, encourage broad community engagement and decrease negative attitudes and prejudice about mental health. 

  • We provide transport information about each venue in our prospectus so that you know how to get there by bus, tube or train 
  • We repeat our most popular courses and rotate them to different venues across the borough so that people can choose to attend a venue that is local to them

Co-production, co-delivery & co-learning
Co-production is where tutors who are Experts by Profession work together with tutors who are Experts by

  • Experience to develop a course for Tower Hamlets Recovery College by setting learning objectives and developing a session plan.
  • Having expert knowledge of the topic is most important, regardless of whether you are an Expert by Profession or Experience.
  • Each co-producer has equally valued input into the decision making process, the course content and the production of the final session plan.  
  • Co-production means that all comments and opinions made by the Expert by Experience and the Expert by Profession are fully explored and respected. Differences of opinion are discussed and time is allowed for compromises to be negotiated.
  • The final session plan reflects all the contributions made by each tutor during the co-production process.
  • Co-delivery means that each course is delivered by a trained tutor who is an Expert by Experience and a trained tutor who is an Expert by Profession. This means that one person is not supporting or secondary to the other and there is equality of roles.
  • Co-learning means that students who have experienced mental health difficulties learn with students who have not so that students can learn from one another’s experience.

Individual Learning Plans
An Individual Learning Plan helps a student to identify their specific learning goals for the term and reflect on their progress. Goals can include ambitions that a student has for their personal learning and recovery journey. The Individual Learning Plan (ILP) does not have to be detailed. It provides an opportunity discuss learning needs, decide which courses to enrol on and the kind of support that could be offered by our tutors.

Getting involved at Tower Hamlets Recovery College
We have a number of volunteering opportunities at Tower Hamlets Recovery College including:

  • Volunteer Peer Tutors
  • Friends of the Recovery College

If you are interested in volunteering please 

  • E-mailing thrc@elft.nhs.uk or
  • Telephoning the college on 020 7426 2449 or
  • Texting the college on 07908 459239 or
  • Visiting the Recovery College in person at 86 Old Montague Street, London E1 5NN
Recovery College
Address

Tower Hamlets Recovery College
86 Old Montague Street
London
E1 5NN
United Kingdom

Opening hours
Admin office: 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday Study Centre & Library
Telephone number
020 7426 2449
  • Self-referral
  •  In order to enrol on a course you must first register with the college by filling in a registration form.You can download this here, complete and send to us via email or post. If you prefer you can drop in to the Recovery College during office hours, to fill in a form in person. You only need to fill this in once.
  • Once registered, you can enrol on whichever courses interest you. This can also be sent via email, or delivered in person or by post. If you have any questions or enquiries, please give us a ring or pop in to the college.

You can register as a student at Tower Hamlets Recovery College if:

  • You are aged 18 and over   
  • You are a Tower Hamlets resident who has experienced mental health problems & may also have long term physical health problems
  • You are a  carer, family member, friend or loved one of a person resident in Tower Hamlets who has experienced mental health problems 
  • You are a Tower Hamlets resident with an interest in learning more about recovery, wellbeing and mental health 
  • You are employed in Tower Hamlets and want to learn more about recovery, wellbeing and mental health
  • You are studying in Tower Hamlets and want to learn more about recovery, wellbeing and mental health

Please register by: 

  • Completing the Tower Hamlets Recovery College Registration Form available on this webpage and e-mailing it to thrc@elft.nhs.uk or
  • Phoning the college on 020 7426 2449 to register by telephone or
  • Coming to Tower Hamlets Recovery College to register in person  

You only need to complete the registration form once so that we have your details.

Enrolment Form

Leaflet

Registration Form

Tower Hamlets Recovery College is run by East London Foundation Trust working in partnership with local charities from the Inspire Consortium and many other projects and organisations in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.We are always keen to make new partnerships.

All of our tutors have completed tutor training either through their professional training or on the two day Train the Trainer course at the Recovery College.Some of our tutors have lived experience of mental health either as a service user or carer. They are peer tutors and Experts by Experience.Some of our tutors have professional experience of mental health. They are Experts by Profession. Tutors who are Experts by Profession come from a wide range of professional backgrounds including health (occupational therapists, psychiatrists, general practitioners, pharmacists, psychologists, nurses, HR) social care (social workers, housing workers, benefits advisers) and the voluntary sector (health trainers, counsellors, advocates). All our tutors receive regular supervision. Peer tutors receive personal and group supervision and support to develop their teaching skills, achieve additional training qualifications and support their own recovery.  

  • We will put you on a reserve list, just in case we have any cancellations
  • We will give you priority when we repeat the course next term

We understand that things can get in the way of your plans. 
If you can no longer attend a course that you are enrolled on please let us know by: 

  • E-mailing thrc@elft.nhs.uk or
  • Telephoning the college on 020 7426 2449 or
  • Texting the college on 07908 459239

Many of our courses have a waiting list so we can often offer your place to someone else. 
You are welcome to re-enrol in the course you have missed the following term if you are still interested in attending.

Courses are free of charge to:

  • All residents of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
  • People whose workplace is in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
  • People who are carers, family members, friends or loved ones of a person resident in Tower Hamlets who has experienced mental health problems, even if they  are not resident in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets themselves.

Courses provide people with a chance to learn more about mental health recovery and wellbeing so that they can lead more independent and hopeful lives, or better support other people to do so. Attending courses may also contribute to your personal learning and development or your CPD (Continuous Professional Development) and revalidation portfolio.  

If you have an ideas for a new course please:

-           E-mail them to us at thrc@elft.nhs.uk or

-           Telephone on 020 7426 2450 or

-           Text us on 07908 429 239 or

-           Coming to Tower Hamlets Recovery College to tell us