"Learning Together Towards Recovery (Trust Recovery Conference)"

On Monday 14th October the Trust held a Recovery Conference as part of the mental health awareness fortnight in Nottingham. It was called 'Learning Together Towards Recovery' and over 200 people took part.

It was fantastic day and there was a really varied mixture of people participating. We had service users, family & carers, Trust staff, as well as guests from the County Council and Framework as well as other voluntary organisations.

What was especially powerful about the day was that most of the presentations and workshops were co-produced and co-presented by professionals and people who were either service users or carers. Some Involvement volunteers also took on the role of Event Table Facilitators and hosted several of the many display stalls around the Conference Centre.

Speaking from personal experience, it is very nerve-wracking standing up on stage and talking in front of 200 people for professionals as much as anybody else. But for the people who stood up and talked about their own experiences of being a service users or carer - I just found the courage and determination truly inspirational.

I am identified as a 'responder' on for this Patient Opinion website. But in this instance I would really just like to say a big thank you to everybody who showed that by working together in partnership we can make brilliant things happen.