NHS CPFT Recovery Coach Team

What is the Recovery Coach Team?

The Recovery Coach Team offers coaching and peer support to help you identify what you may need to do and what support you need to make the transition from secondary community mental health services to your GP  as successful as possible. This includes:

• Coaching by Recovery Coaches  trained in  methods to empower you to take control of your recovery journey by helping you to establish your own goals.
• Peer Support Workers with lived experience of challenges around mental health and trained to support you to achieve the goals you identify.

Who is this service for?

Discharge from secondary mental health services can be considered a significant achievement and outcome. However, you may find the transition from high levels of support to reduced levels daunting. You might find it helpful to get support from voluntary organisations or community groups, but feel unsure about how you go about it.

What is ‘recovery’?

Traditionally, the concept of recovery in mental health has been judged primarily on the absence of psychiatric symptoms and a reduction in the number or frequency of hospital admissions. More recently, recovery is considered to be living a satisfying and fulfilling life. It is also a unique experience which means that different people will need different types of support on their recovery journey. You will be encouraged to take control of your own recovery by making the choices that are right for you.

Find out more about Peer Support Specialist and Recovery here.

How can coaching help me?

• Coaching can empower you to move towards your desired goals.
• Coaching can help you to bring about discovery, change and action.
• The coaching relationship is a mutual collaboration based on trust, openness and understanding.
• Coaching involves working together to see opportunities, raise self-awareness and unlock inner potential.
• Coaching can support you to move at the pace that feels right for you.
• Coaching can help you develop skills to positively manage stressors in life.

What to expect?

Recovery Coaches aim to start supporting you at a time when you are working towards transition from secondary mental health services, back to the care of your GP. They will ensure that coaching is the right approach by having a conversation with you about what being coached means, what you can expect from them, and what they expect from you. Together, you can decide if this service is the right one for you.

If you mutually decide to proceed, they will offer you one-to-one coaching and/or peer support work sessions. The amount of time and the number of sessions you need will depend on the goals you identify. This will be short-term, focused work and they would expect to work with most people for about 6 – 8 weeks. You may also still be working with your care coordinator and any other services involved in your care.

Where appropriate the recovery coaches may work with you while you access organisations that can support you in the community. They may also help you identify activities that will increase your confidence and self-esteem such as volunteering, paid work, educational and creative activities.

This service is free and provided by the NHS, however referral criteria must be me (referral criteria below).

If you need support with your mental health, remember you can always reach out to your GP. If you need urgent help, please call the First Response Service on the NHS 111 helpline and select the mental health option.