Recovery Colleges in the UK and Australia—How Do They Compare? A Scoping Review

Abstract

Recovery Colleges are still a relatively new form of mental health service in Australia. This review aimed to explore the current literature on Australian Recovery Colleges and compare this to information on the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Recovery Colleges. This study followed the Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review guidelines. We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Scopus for peer-reviewed articles. Grey literature was identified through a four-stage process. All types of literature in English were included with no restriction on publication date. The review included 54 Recovery College studies: 16 Australian and 38 UK. A lack of information on around half of the Australian Recovery Colleges made comparison with UK Colleges and adherence to the core characteristics of the model more uncertain than expected. However, information extracted about the Recovery College characteristics and outcomes was similar for both Australian and UK Colleges. Co-production, which values diverse experience, expertise or knowledge in an equal relationship, is a critical component in the implementation of Recovery Colleges. However, there were knowledge gaps in the role of co-production in College governance and everyday operation. The review also supports the importance of recovery orientation and the value of being an educational service providing co-learning, which is essential to challenging the attitudes, eroding the traditional power relationships and imparting real-life examples of the challenges and realities that people face in their recovery journeys. Further research on Australian Colleges is required to better understand their implementation and outcomes. Show more