All Recovery College workshops & programs are co-designed and co-delivered by specialist educators and peer educators with lived experience of mental health conditions.
When faced with adversity in life, how do we cope or adapt? Why do some people seem to bounce back from tragic events or loss much more quickly than others? Why do some people seem to get "stuck" in a point in their life, without the ability to move forward?
Online (Zoom) - Thursday 2 February 2023, 10am-2:30pm
What is anxiety? This program builds understanding of anxiety and how it impacts on individuals, their carers and families. The program also explores recovery, self-management strategies and other techniques that provide practical assistance to those living with anxiety.
Parramatta (English) (Arts & Cultural Exchange) - Wednesday 8 February 2023, 10am-2pm
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Auburn (Arabic) - Thursday 9 February 2023, 10am-2pm
This workshop is intended for people and their families or significant others and service providers working with people affected by hoarding disorders.
Online (Zoom) - Wednesday 15 February 2023, 9:30am-4pm
Standard Mental Health First Aid is a specialist two day program which equips adults with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to recognise, understand and respond to a friend, family member, co-worker or another adult experiencing a mental health problem or mental health crisis.
Parramatta (Arts & Cultural Exchange) - Thursday 16 & Friday 17 February 2023, 9.30am-4pm
All of us have things we’d like to change about ourselves; and nearly all of us have someone we know who we think needs to change. Talking about this is hard. We don’t want to be nagged and we don’t want to be a nag - but we know that we need to have the conversation.
Parramatta (Arts & Cultural Exchange) - Wednesday 22 February 2023, 10am-2pm
The aim of this course is to provide students with an understanding of inclusive practice in the workplace. Students will learn how to apply this knowledge to their work practices in order to ensure an inclusive environment for LGBTIQ staff and consumers.
Parramatta (Arts & Cultural Exchange) - Thursday 23 February 2023, 9.30am-4.30pm
In this four part workshop series, students will learn about using writing as a self-care tool. This series will encourage confidence in students' own personal style and will unlock their own unique writing ability. It will build on this skill set to empower and encourage wellbeing.
Blacktown (Max Webber Function Centre) - Wednesdays 1, 8, 15 & 22 March 2023, 10am-12noon
Whether we are working remotely or on-site, COVID-19 has changed the way we work. Often during virtual meetings, we get distracted by day-to-day things and end up multitasking when we shouldn't, and zoning out when we should be tuning in.
Online (Zoom) - Thursday 2 March 2023, 10am-12noon
Schizophrenia, like many mental health conditions, is often misunderstood, stigmatised, and portrayed in popular culture in negative ways. This workshop aims to help people living with schizophrenia and their families, friends and carers to better understand what a diagnosis of schizophrenia means, how to manage it and how to support recovery.
Online (Zoom) - Saturday 4 March 2023, 10am-2:30pm
This workshop provides students with the cultural understanding required to deliver mental health services within a social and emotional wellbeing framework. This course is open to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.
Online (Zoom) - Wednesday 8 & Thursday 9 March 2023, 9:30-3pm
This workshop will explore the concept and context of recovery with a particular focus on the personal process and what this means for people with lived experience, families, services and communities. The workshop will cover lived experience and recovery relating to mental health conditions, the evidence of recovery, and the characteristics of services and approaches that support recovery.
Auburn (Arabic) (Professional Teachers' Council) - Thursday 9 March 2023, 9:30am-4:30pm
Grief is a natural and normal response to loss. Loss in a person’s life can be the loss of a loved one, a job, a relationship or a lifestyle. Everyone experiences loss and grieves in their own way. This workshop will not only be about bereavement, students will also learn about theories of grief, different types of loss, coping strategies and what life can look like beyond bereavement.
Online (Zoom) - Thursday 16 March 2023, 10am-2:30pm
People who experience bipolar disorder may have extreme mood swings which can range from highly energised, impulsive euphoria (sometimes to the point of having delusions and hallucinations) to extreme depression and to remission in a mostly unpredictable pattern. This can be frightening and difficult to live with or deal with.
Parramatta (Arts & Cultural Exchange) - Wednesday 29 March 2023, 10am-2pm
This workshop builds understanding about the relationship between physical and mental health. Learn how improving physical health can have a positive impact on your mental health. This program will include practical advice about the benefits of exercise and good nutrition to support you to make healthy lifestyle changes.
Online (Zoom) - Thursday 30 March 2023, 10am-2:30pm
Face-to-Face & Online - April-June 2023
It can often be a difficult process to start a recovery journey when there are so many services out there to choose from. This program has been designed to assist people in navigating the mental health system in Western Sydney and to unpack what sorts of support different services can offer and when, how, and why you might need to access them. Information on using new apps and websites will be provided. Students will also gain general knowledge of the rights of mental health consumers while navigating the system, which will leave them feeling confident in advocating for themselves and in reaching out for help.
Blacktown (Max Webber Function Centre) - Thursday 27 April 2023, 10am-3pm
People often confuse assertiveness with self-confidence. While self-confidence is important, the times we most need to be assertive are often when we are not feeling confident.
Online (Zoom) - Thursday 4 May 2023, 10am-2:30pm
Most of us know firsthand that sleep affects our mental state. This workshop aims to help students understand how sleep (or lack of it) affects our mental wellbeing and to learn some techniques to improve the quality of their sleep.
Online (Zoom) - Wednesday 10 May 2023, 10am-12pm
What is depression? This program builds understanding of depression and how it impacts on individuals, their carers and families. The program also explores recovery, coping strategies and self-management techniques.
Online (Zoom) - Wednesday 17 May 2023, 10am-2:30pm
A specially updated version of Effective Communication Skills to include online communications, this workshop series will introduce students to the ways in which we sometimes change how we communicate in an online context and how to ensure we are communicating effectively in an online setting.
Parramatta (One Door Mental Health) - Thursday 1 June 2023, 10am-2pm
This workshop will explore the various impacts of problem gambling on the individual and the family focusing on mental health and multicultural communities. The workshop will provide examples of warning signs and the types of support that are available for those experiencing problem gambling and their families.
Online (Zoom) - Wednesday 7 June 2023, 10am-12noon
Recovery depends on all the people involved – people living with mental health issues, workers, and carers, family and friends – being as strong and resilient as possible. When there are lots of demands and stressors, it is very easy to neglect the things that can help us feel strong and resilient. Self-care is becoming one of the most important ways that people can manage their mental health.
Online (Zoom) - Thursday 8 June 2023, 10am-2:30pm
Most of us often feel overloaded, stressed and feel under pressure. It is very easy to get into a spiral and be stuck in our usual automatic reactions (even if they’re not helpful). Mindfulness is an integrative, mind-body based approach that helps people to manage their thoughts and feelings and mental health.
Blacktown (Max Webber Function Centre) - Thursday 15 June 2023, 10am-12noon
This course will provide an understanding of how trauma can be triggered during stressful events. Dr Bruce Perry’s ‘Three R’s: Regulate, Relate and Reason’ provides a framework for service users and service providers that uses calm connection as a means to improve the experience of service access and a foundation for effective collaborative problem solving.
Online (Zoom) - Thursday 22 June 2023, 10am-2:30pm