The Recovery Education Centre (REC) is delivered in partnership between Dorset HealthCare and the Dorset Mental Health Forum, a local peer led charity. We offer a wide range of educational courses across Dorset which focus on recovery and wellbeing. 

We believe people and communities hold their own solutions and through working in partnership everyone can realise their own unique potential. Our courses are free to attend and are open to anyone over the age of 18 years living in Dorset. Our vision is to provide a learning space that is accessible to all, available to people with personal experience of mental health difficulties and those accessing mental health services, as well as carers, friends, family, supporters and staff.

The REC co-develops and co-delivers educational-based courses and resources focusing on recovery, wellbeing and shared learning, bringing together the expertise of professionals and people with lived experience.

Our courses are available to people with personal experience of mental health difficulties as well as carers, friends, family, and supporters including staff.

The focus is on shared learning, self determination and choice. The REC provides opportunity to explore and understand experiences and to recognise and develop skills and tools which may help in your recovery journey.

Our courses have been co-designed to be mindful of the potential impact of trauma experiences. You will find there are some specific courses relating to trauma and distress, however, all of our REC courses provide learning opportunities around this.

How do I access recovery education?

Courses

During our term time we run a programme of free courses, both webinar and face to face, these are opportunities to share learning with others. Our Summer term courses will be running from the beginning of May until the end of July 2025. Our Summer Timetable and Course Descriptions are now available on our courses page

To attend any of our courses you first need to complete your registration and enrolment

Resources 

We have a variety of online learning materials and resources available including podcasts, worksheets and videos. These can be found in our Learn online section which is regularly updated with new resources. You can search the resources list by topic, you can then watch, listen or download our resources at your convenience.

Key information about this service