Problem addressed

The current mental health paradigm recognizes the active role of individuals in their own recovery journey. The Recovery College serves as a model to support this approach. Well-established in the UK, the Recovery College is a learning space offering courses on mental health, enabling each person to become a "student of their own well-being." Within this framework, there is a growing need to train trainers capable of applying recovery principles across different contexts. The project aims to broaden the very concept of "trainer," by including so-called “experts by experience” — individuals who have personally faced mental health challenges — as key figures in the training process

Innovative solution

The project’s innovation lies in developing an educational approach to mental health that empowers individuals to take responsibility and play an active role in their own recovery journey. The Recovery College model places strong emphasis on the role of *peer support*—individuals who draw on their own lived experience with mental health challenges to support others facing similar situations. This peer-to-peer dynamic fosters engagement, hope, and a renewed sense of possibility, which are essential elements in the healing process.

In 2022, the Bologna Local Health Authority (Azienda USL), in collaboration with the University of Bologna, the Municipality, and the Metropolitan City, launched the project *“Perché ci vuole una città”* ("Because It Takes a City"), which led to the creation of the Bologna Recovery College. This is an innovative learning space offering co-designed mental health courses open to all citizens. The project presented here builds upon this foundation, aiming to promote the training of professionals in the recovery approach, thereby contributing to its dissemination both locally and beyond regional borders.

Key results and benefits

Expected benefits include: the creation of a professional network able to deliver Recovery College courses consistently and effectively; the promotion of a systemic approach to well-being; the transferability of the model at both local and broader levels; and the growth of an integrated ecosystem working to support mental health across communities.

Potential for mainstreaming

At least four Recovery College courses are planned in different contexts, involving a minimum of 60 participants. These individuals will form the initial core of a broader community of citizens and professionals who may continue along the training path and actively engage in the Recovery College model, thereby contributing to its dissemination and long-term establishment within the local area.