Coupled with more than a 10% drop in specialist mental health nurses in the past five years*, this has left NHS services struggling to cope with demand.
The University of Hertfordshire is committed to equipping mental health professionals, service users, carers, service managers and policy makers with the knowledge and skills to make a difference to the lives of people experiencing mental distress. Its innovative distance learning programme – MSc Mental Health Recovery and Social Inclusion – is a flexible, online course developed by experienced practitioners, academics, people with lived experience and service providers across Europe and the USA.
The University is now taking its commitment to service user involvement further by offering a scholarship opportunity specifically for a person with lived experience of mental illness. The programme will equip the successful applicant with the skills and knowledge to effect practice change, helping to develop policies and manage mental health work to aid the recovery and social inclusion of people experiencing mental distress. It will also enable them to adapt approaches and understanding of their own recovery journey and successful completion of the course could open up career opportunities in mental health.
Dr Audrey Kempson, Programme Tutor, commented: “We are offering a scholarship to a student who has lived experience of mental distress in recognition of the fact that their usual educational trajectory may have been interrupted. The scholarship is intended to enrich the learning community as well as empower service users to effect innovation and change with confidence and help others to work collaboratively towards this goal.”
This challenging two year, part-time programme has the same high academic quality standards as all University of Hertfordshire degrees and offers participants the opportunity to be part of a dynamic and supportive online community of like-minded students. The scholarship will be available for the September 2016 intake. For more information about the course or to apply for the scholarship visit: go.herts.ac.uk/MHR.
Case Study
Since early childhood, Ingrid has been managing life with bipolar disorder. Having survived several suicide attempts, her life was once again thrown into turmoil when her teenager began navigating life with their own mental health vulnerabilities.
Despite being on medication, Ingrid was still severely depressed and hypo-manic. She sought help from other avenues and came across The University of Hertfordshire’s MSC Mental Health Recovery and Social Inclusion online course. “Some of the words used to describe the course– recovery, hope and optimism – really hit home with me. I enrolled not just for vocational opportunities, but in anticipation that it would help me in my own recovery journey”, says Ingrid.
Ingrid found the course to be a refreshing opportunity to learn life skills: “Being able to share the reality of lived experiences of mental health vulnerabilities and recovery within a safe environment enabled the tutors to show me how to help myself. My cognition felt impaired and having the most supportive, caring lecturers was truly empowering. The ability to work with and through episodes of severe distress, whilst somehow studying, was key to my wellness.”
“Becoming a graduate of this world-class programme and the experiences of meeting people have helped me to stand taller, feel less vulnerable, yet acknowledge and accept that my mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. Ultimately, this provided me with much needed connectedness and basic functioning for my journey,” continues Ingrid.
With new-found, life-long friendships, the hope and optimism of the course content and encouraging the voices of those with lived experience to be heard, has profoundly enriched Ingrid’s well-being. She has also relished the opportunity to learn about mental health recovery and social inclusion from a global perspective.
“I am aiming high, wanting to catch the moon. If I can catch a few stars along the way, that's a step forward!”