Seminar: Researching recovery: Voices from Uganda

In mental health, “recovery” goes beyond the alleviation of symptoms, and describes more a subjective, individual journey than an objective state of being. While the recovery model allows for a more holistic approach to mental health, it also presents unique challenges to researchers investigating the impact of recovery-oriented interventions.

This seminar will explore the perspectives of peer support workers, recovery trainers and researchers involved in “MORE Brain Gain”, an evaluation of the Brain Gain II project of the Butabika-East London Link funded through the Tropical Health Education Trust’s Health Partnership Scheme. We’ll be asking:

• Why and how is a recovery model useful as a tool to better understand and support people with lived experience of mental illness in Uganda?
• What is the role of people with lived experience of mental illness, in both promoting and researching recovery?
• What are the challenges to researching recovery, methodologically and practically?

The seminar will begin with a series of short videos about recovery in the Ugandan context, made by Ugandans with lived experience of mental illness who are involved in the Brain Gain II project. The discussion portion of the seminar will begin with a broad introduction to the recovery movement and international research on recovery.

The introduction will be followed by a panel discussion with peer support workers and recovery college trainers involved in data collection for “MORE Brain Gain”. Researchers from “MORE Brain Gain” will then discuss the study design, early results, and ongoing challenges related to the evaluation of a recovery-oriented programme in a low-resource setting.

The event will conclude with an open reception and showcase of Ugandan crafts made by users.

Agenda:

6:00pm-6:15pm: Video: Voices of people with lived experience of mental illness in Uganda

6:15pm-6:30pm: Introduction

6:30pm-7:00pm: Panel discussion with peer support workers and recovery college trainers

7:00pm-7:30pm: Presentations by “MORE Brain Gain” researchers

7:30pm-7:45pm: Closing remarks

Admission: Please register in advance, as space is limited.