The Scottish Recovery Network has launched new resources which aim to provide life-changing help to those struggling with their mental health

New resources which aim to help people with life-changing mental health support have been launched.

The Scottish Recovery Network has produced a series of Making Recovery Real learning and resources which highlight the need for a new collaborative approach to providing mental health support.

First piloted in Moray and Dundee, Making Recovery Real focuses on the creation of conditions in which people, including professionals and people with lived experience, can work and learn together. It does not replace the traditional NHS treatment route but invites formal services to walk alongside local people, organisations and initiatives to identify and provide the best mental health support possible for that community in that community.

The Making Recovery Real approach is helping to realise a genuine change in power dynamics and has provided a platform for conversations about what mental health recovery really means for local people. It is giving people with lived experience the right to be at the centre of decision-making, service design and practice development.

As well as facilitating the development of new and innovative approaches to wellbeing, Making Recovery Real also builds on what is already happening in an area by bringing together and supporting many of the often unrecognised and under-funded local initiatives who are providing invaluable support at a community grassroots level.

So far, key Making Recovery Real activities have included: bringing people together to shape local priorities and strategies; the production of a suite of recovery stories films and discussion guide; the co-design of online recovery resources and the development of new services and ways of supporting people including a range of peer support opportunities and initiatives.

Chris Ritchie, champions and director of Moray Wellbeing Hub said: “The difference it has made in my life has been massive because I went from the state of being a zombie to somebody who can contribute to the community and make a real difference. People who make strategic decisions listen to us and values our opinions and that’s because with the help of the Scottish Recovery Network we talk the same language.”