Nick W.

Background

About Nick W.

I’m a Peer Trainer at a Recovery College in Berkshire. A Recovery College is a unique approach to mental health recovery that uses education to empower individuals. Recovery is about people experiencing mental health challenges having the same opportunities in life as everyone else - learning to thrive not just survive. It is about a personal journey towards a meaningful and satisfying life. It is about hope, control and opportunity. It is about living as well as possible. Working in co-production a Recovery College is also unique in that they are places where the expertise of those with lived experience is blended with that of professional health care practitioners, reframing the nature of the relationship between professionals and people who use services to one of shared learning and co-production. I have a particular interest in mindfulness, social connection and community and the important role they have in recovery from mental illness and ongoing wellbeing. I have a personal interest in the profound benefits of mindfulness and meditation. My personal experience and practice of meditation has given me a pathway to deep personal growth and change. I also have an interest in what is often referred to as ‘third wave’ CBT approaches, particularly Meta Cognitive Therapy (MCT) Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) as well as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). These exciting evidence based approaches have shown particular effectiveness as psychological treatment of mental illness. I am an advocate of the Recovery Model in mental health that goes far beyond simply surviving with a diagnosis. It instead focuses on finding purpose, connection, and fulfilment. Rather than simply responding to symptoms, this perspective offers a comprehensive outlook that aims to take patients beyond the back-footedness of survival, and into the agency of a meaningful life. It takes into account the patient’s unique, subjective experience and incorporates that into their journey back into life. I am a graduate in the social sciences holding an upper second class bachelors degree in Sociology (Bsc) and a post graduate masters degree in Media/Digital Media (MA). I have a twenty year career in marketing and e-commerce, managing digital marketing / e-commerce for major UK brands at a senior level. Prior to marketing I worked for the home civil service.