Experts from around the globe will join together to take part in a new study looking at how Recovery Colleges (RCs) can be adapted so they can be shaped to meet mental health needs across very different cultures worldwide.
RCs are an innovative approach to mental health support, combining education and co-production to help people build skills, confidence, and social connections. Although RCs are now found in over 28 countries, most of the research underpinning them has been developed in Western settings. This raises important questions about how well RCs work across different cultural contexts.
First introduced in England in 2009, RCs now operate in over 28 countries across five continents. Rather than focusing solely on clinical treatment, RCs offer educational courses that empower people with mental health difficulties to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives.
These courses—co-produced and co-delivered by people with lived experience and professionals—cover topics such as understanding mental health, developing life skills, and planning for recovery, and are seen as a mental health innovation.
However, most RCs have been developed in Western countries, which share similar cultural characteristics. This has previously raised questions about how well the model fits in other parts of the world, especially where values around independence, group harmony, or emotional expression may differ.
A new paper published in PLOS ONE, led by Dr Yasu Kotera, Associate Professor of Cross-Cultural Mental Health in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham, outlines how they will carry out the first global Delphi study to address this gap.
Instead of solely relying on numbers, a Delphi study gathers insights from international experts, with a deep knowledge in the field.
Bringing together experts from more than 30 countries, this study will identify which aspects of the Recovery College model are universally applicable, and which may need cultural adaptation. The findings will guide practitioners and policymakers worldwide in making RCs more inclusive, relevant, and effective across diverse communities
Recovery Colleges are helping thousands of people worldwide, but until now their evidence base has been largely Western. This international study will help us understand how RCs can be shaped to respect cultural differences while keeping their core values. By doing so, we aim to ensure that Recovery Colleges are truly accessible and meaningful for people across cultures."
This Delphi study is part of the wider RECOLLECT 2 programme, which is co-led by Professor Mike Slade (University of Nottingham) and Professor Claire Henderson (King's College London). RECOLLECT 2 is the largest research programme worldwide on Recovery Colleges, developing new tools, evidence, and guidance for practice.
The full study can be found here
