Recovery and Wellbeing Colleges welcome delegation of guests from Hong Kong
The visit, held on Thursday 22 January 2026, was organised by the internationally recognised programme ImROC (Implementing Recovery through Organisational Change) that supports mental health systems to embed recovery oriented practice.
As part of ImROC’s international recovery learning exchanges, our Recovery and Wellbeing Colleges hosted a group of six occupational therapists from Hong Kong Hospital Authority mental health services to learn more about how our Colleges work. A morning session held by Calderdale and Kirklees Recovery College at Mirfield Community Centre and an afternoon session commenced at Barnsley Recovery College.
Co-production, lived experience and peer support were the themes of the sessions, offering the opportunity for our delegates to find out more about the Recovery and Wellbeing College models, peer support principles and career development and lived experience practice. They also had the chance to engage with staff, learners and volunteers to learn more about our approaches, programmes and recovery orientated interventions. A summary of the topics covered included:
- Overview and learning from the Recovery and Wellbeing College models
- Focused discussion on peer support roles, career pathways, and lived experience practice
- Tour of the College – meeting staff, volunteers and learners
- Shared learning on co-production in community and clinical settings and strengths based approaches
- Discussion on service structure and partnership models
- Exploration of user-led and peer-led programmes
- Peer support practice in a different locality context
Matt Ellis, Principal at Calderdale and Kirklees Recovery and Wellbeing College said: “It was a real privilege to host delegates from Hong Kong at our Recovery College. Their enthusiasm for peer work, co‑production and recovery was inspiring, and it was wonderful to hear how motivated they felt by the conversations we shared. Opportunities like this genuinely enrich our practice — broadening our perspectives, strengthening connections, and reminding us of the power of learning from one another.”
The visit offers exciting opportunities for future collaboration, enhancing learning relationships Hong Kong Hospital Authority teams, greater international visibility for our model and co-produced practice and ongoing exchange with other partners across our Recovery Colleges.
Thank you to everyone involved with organising, supporting and welcoming our international guests. If you’re interested in finding out more about our Recovery and Wellbeing Colleges and the courses they offer, please visit our websites for Barnsley, Calderdale & Kirklees and Wakefield.
