ALL COURSES
FULL SUBJECT DIRECTORY
All Oxfordshire Recovery College Courses.
View calendar for dates, times and locations.
View calendar for dates, times and locations.
Introduction to ORC
- A mandatory introduction to the Oxfordshire Recovery College.
- In-person: 2 hrs
- Online: 2 hrs
- Category: Induction
What is Mental Health?
- What is mental health and what does good mental health look like? We consider how mental health problems may be diagnosed, or understood as part of our life experiences. The course explores the meaning of recovery and looks at support available.
- In-person: 3 hrs
- Online: 2x 90 mins
- Category: Understanding
Understanding Depression
- This course explores what depression is and how it affects someone’s life, as well as an understanding of what causes depression and how to respond to it. The course will examine personal experiences to illustrate that depression is not an isolated experience and that it is possible to recover and maintain wellbeing.
- In-person: 3 hrs
- Category: Understanding
Understanding Anxiety
- What is anxiety and how how can we learn to manage it better? The course explores different types of anxiety disorders, how we can understand anxiety as a survival strategy, techniques to reduce worry, and where to look for further support.
- In-person: 3 hrs
- Category: Understanding
Understanding Personality Disorders
- We consider how personality disorders are defined and how they may develop, and discuss ways to move forward – looking at both support which can be offered and at self help strategies. In Part 2 we discuss some models for understanding our emotions, understanding human relationships and thinking about how we make positive changes in our lives.
- In-person: 2 x 3 hrs
- Category: Understanding
Understanding Psychosis
- We aim to increase understanding of what it can be like to experience psychosis, what might cause it and how it can be defined. The course considers factors which help and hinder recovery, and aims to inspire students with hope that recovery is possible and achievable.
- In-person: 3 hrs
- Category: Understanding
Understanding Bipolar Disorder
- This course aims to increase understanding of Bipolar Disorder including its possible causes and symptoms, what it might be like to live with it and how we might define it. The course considers factors which help and hinder recovery, and aims to inspire students that recovery is possible and achievable. It considers the challenges of stigma and ways we might tackle it.
- In-person: 3 hrs
- Category: Understanding
Understanding Eating Disorders
- We explore different types of eating disorder, negative impacts , causes and treatments. We offer the opportunity to hear from lived experience and we share ideas within the group for how we can help ourselves and/or support others.
- In-person: 3 hrs
- Category: Understanding
Understanding Trauma
- Experiencing trauma can significantly impact our mental health, the way we function as human beings and our resilience to coping with stressful life events. This course looks at the impact of trauma on our brain and bodies and explores how we can learn to ground ourselves in the present and regulate our emotions. We look at trauma diagnoses in Week 2 and life after trauma in Week 3. Together we share tips and strategies, but not details of what has happened to us.
- In person: 3 x 3 hrs
- Category: Understanding
Coping with Self Harm
- This course provides a safe space to discuss the different reasons why a person might engage in self harming behaviour and what it might mean – focussing on why, not how. We share lots of ideas for healthier coping strategies, as well as looking at support available.
- In person: 3 hrs
- Category: Understanding
Understanding Confidence
- Mental ill-health often leads to a loss of confidence, making it difficult for people to move forward with their lives. Regaining confidence is an important part of many people’s recovery. This course will help you recognise your existing skills, and consider some practical ways to move forwards with increased confidence.
- In person: 3 hrs
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Tackling Stigma & Discrimination
- What does stigma mean in relation to mental health? We examine the impact that stigma and discrimination can have on our sense of identity, and look at ways we can challenge stigma while taking care of ourselves.
- In person: 3 hrs
- Category: Understanding
Finding Your Pathway Through Services
- This course offers an introduction to mental health services across Oxfordshire, and how to access them. We explore how to communicate your mental health needs to others and where to turn if you feel you are not being listened to. The course is suitable for people who are already engaged with services, seeking to engage, or for those who want to support others.
- In person: 3 hrs
- Category: Understanding
Neurodivergence & Wellbeing
- This is a course for anyone keen to understand more about neurodivergence and its impact on wellbeing. We look at how we can define neurodivergence, explore diagnosis and stigma, and identify useful strategies which increase a sense of wellbeing. We explore factors which impact on neurodivergent individuals, and look at how we can support neurodivergent individuals and those who care for and work alongside them.
- In-person: 3x 3 hrs
- Online: 3x 2 hrs
- Category: Understanding
Men, Mental Health & Society
- More women than men are diagnosed with common mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, however the rate of suicide is significantly higher in men. This suggests that some men suffering with mental distress may not be receiving (or asking) for the help they need. We explore why men may find it harder to talk about their mental health or seek help, the impact of how we use language and the stigma around men’s mental health. It is suitable for anyone interested in the effects of gender on our mental health.
- In-person: 3x 3 hrs
- Category: Understanding
Gender Identity, Sexuality & Mental Health
- This course seeks to explore issues around gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation, and how these can impact on our mental health. We will explore themes around developing our sense of identity and look at dealing with stigma and discrimination. The course is suitable for everyone wishing to consider these issues in a supportive group, however they describe their own identity.
- In person: 2x 3 hrs
- Category: Understanding
Sleep & Wellbeing
- Together we will focus on sleep - the physiological basics, the effects of poor sleep on our mental health and general wellbeing, and how we can learn to manage and improve our sleep.
- In person: 3 hrs
- Category: Wellbeing
Thinking About Thinking
- This is an introduction to how we as individuals think about thinking, and will help students to explore and understand more about this subject. We identify some common and potentially unhelpful thinking patterns which may impact our mental health negatively, and with greater understanding explore how we can adapt our thinking to promote our own wellbeing in a self- compassionate way
- In-person: 2x 3 hrs
- Online: 3x 2 hrs
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Body Image & Mental Health
- Together we look at the impact that thoughts, feelings and ideas about our appearance can have on our mental health. We consider where assumptions and biases about our own and other people's appearances come from. We share ideas for increasing positive thoughts and feelings about our bodies.
- In person: 3 hrs
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Introduction to Mindfulness
- What is mindfulness? This course gives an overview and a felt experience of mindfulness - the practice of being aware of our present moment experience with kindness rather than judgement. We explore the proven benefits of mindfulness and advise about when it may not be so useful. You’ll leave with a toolkit of ideas for being more mindful in everyday life and ways to find out more if you wish to.
- In-person: 3 hrs
- Online: 2x 90mins
- Category: Wellbeing
Mindful Movement with T’ai Chi Chih
- We will have the opportunity to learn some easy T’ai Chi Chih movements as a stress-reduction tool to help in recovery. No previous knowledge or equipment is required and you will be given opportunities to experience the beneficial effects in your own mind and body whilst being guided through movements during the workshop.
- In person: 3 hrs
- Category: Wellbeing
Wildlife & Well-being
- We look at the ways in which people relate to the natural world and at the positive impacts of increased interaction with wildlife on our well-being and mental health. In Part 1 we make a bird feeder together and in Part 2 students will be given a chance to spend some time outdoors, taking part in a bit of bird-spotting, tree identification and the inspection of a microcosm.
- In-person: 2x 3 hrs
- Category: Wellbeing
Life on a Budget
- We find ways to look after your mental health and well-being without spending a fortune. It’s suitable for anyone wanting to build strategies and share ideas around shopping, eating and getting the most out of everyday life, whilst sticking to a budget.
- In-person: 2x 3 hrs
- Online: 2x 90mins
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Eat well, Be active, Stay motivated
- During this 3 - part course we look at how our physical health is connected with our mental health. We explore how we can look after ourselves through healthy eating and exercise and how this can positively impact our mental health. We think about how we can motivate ourselves to make positive changes and keep going towards our own personal goals.
- In-person: 3x 3 hrs
- Online: 3x 90mins
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Menopause and Mental Health
- While the menopause isn’t a mental health condition, it can directly affect your mental health. Hormonal changes during the menopause can sometimes make existing mental health conditions worse. In this course we look at what the menopause and perimenopause actually are and explore ways to live and cope with the menopause day to day. The course is open to men and women, whether you are currently experiencing or supporting someone through menopause or just interested to learn more about this natural part of life.
- In-person: 3 hrs
- Online: 2x 2 hrs
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Managing Self Doubt
- This course is for anyone keen to learn more about self-doubt and how to live with it better. Self doubt feeds anxiety in a continuous cycle and can have a huge impact on our mental health and wellbeing. Together we explore what it is, the impacts it can have, and some things we can do to manage it. There is a practical emphasis and we hope that students will leave feeling more able to manage their own self-doubt, and/or to better support others who experience it.
- In-person: 2x 3 hrs
- Online: 3x 90mins
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Parenting in Recovery
- All parents face challenges, but struggling with your mental health can make parenting even harder. This course is a safe space in which to discuss the challenges of being a parent and to receive encouragement from each other. We will talk about how we can be “good enough” parents whilst still taking care of ourselves. This course particularly focuses on parenting a young family but also relates to general themes within family relationships.
- In person: 3 hrs
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Managing Healthy Relationships
- Connection with others is vital for human survival, but when poor mental health affects us, or those around us, relationships can be more challenging to nurture and maintain.We will explore different types of relationships, and look at some strategies for good communication and maintaining healthy boundaries to help us build more positive connections.
- In-person: 2x 3 hrs
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Let's Talk Loneliness
- Together we will try to understand more about loneliness, and how it can affect us in our day to day lives, particularly in terms of our mental health. We explore how to cope with a sense of loneliness and manage it the way we want to, which could include seeking companionship through local charities.
- In person: 3 hrs
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Emotional Regulation and Resilience
- Emotional regulation is not about controlling emotions, it’s about noticing our emotions, understanding what message they are trying to give, and developing practical strategies so that our emotions help us rather than overwhelm us. We will focus on this in Part 1. Then in Part 2 we will look at resilience, which is our capacity to handle the challenges of life without becoming emotionally dysregulated. We will look at how we can draw on the strategies, strengths, resources, and insights we already have to strengthen our resilience and stay mentally well.
- In person: 2x 3 hrs
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Exploring Employment Gaps
- We explore the anxieties around employment gaps. Looking at the pros and cons of being open about mental health, how to reframe experiences in a positive light, and looking at the employer perspective. We share practical tips for providing references if you have not recently been in employment and writing a positive CV (This is not a CV workshop).
- In person: 3 hrs
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Sharing Personal Information at Work
- This course helps individuals to explore sharing information about their health with an employer - why, when, what and how much to share. The course looks at reasonable adjustments and creating a Wellness Action Plan.
- In person: 3 hrs
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Writing for Self Expression
- Writing for Self Expression allows participants to explore their thoughts, feelings and experiences through reading, writing and conversation. Writing can be a transformative way to overcome trauma and promote personal growth This series of four workshops is funded and delivered by the Royal Literary Fund. A writer from the RLF will lead the group in talking about some poems and pieces of prose, before offering the opportunity to try out some writing and share it with the group.
- In-person: 4x 90mins
- Online: 4x 90mins
- Category: Wellbeing
Art & Wellbeing
- Art- related courses may differ from term to term, but all offer opportunities to develop creativity in a safe space. Lots of evidence indicates that art is linked to wellbeing, particularly in terms of taking notice of the world around us and within us, seeing a new perspective, distracting from negative thinking and increasing confidence, self- esteem and sense of identity.
- In-person: 6x 3hrs
- Category: Wellbeing
Mindful Photography
- In this practical workshop students have the opportunity to try out some mindful photography and share their results. Mindful photography uses our own eyes and a camera lens (be it a smartphone or a camera) to help ground us in the present moment by looking more closely at the world around us. It encourages us to look non judgmentally and can help change our perspective on ourselves and our environment by encouraging our creativity and a sense of wonder.
- In person: 2 hrs
- Category: Wellbeing
Journaling for Wellbeing
- Journaling in its widest sense (recording some aspects of our day to day experiences) supports our wellbeing by helping us gain perspective on our lives, notice what’s good and focus on what is meaningful to us. Students will be introduced to both bullet journaling and scrapbook journaling and have the opportunity to experiment with different methods and materials ( all provided) to find a way of journaling which works for them.
- In person: 3 hrs
- Category: Wellbeing
End of Term Wellbeing Workshop
- At the end of each term we offer an informal workshop which provides an opportunity to take part in a creative activity and a chance to reflect on the term gone by. These workshops are more informal than other courses and aim to build on a sense of connection within our ORC community.
- In person: 2 hrs
- Category: Wellbeing
Mindful Walk
- Mindful Walks are a chance to slow down, get outside and appreciate the beauty of nature. We’ll go at a slow, gentle pace and pause regularly to pay attention to what’s around us.
- In person: 2 hrs
- Category: Wellbeing
Coping with Stress and Anxiety
- Together we aim to increase understanding about anxiety and stress and how to manage it better, and to think about stress reactions and coping strategies we can use. We look at concepts of re-framing and affirmations and try some grounding exercises.
- Online: 2x 90mins
- Category: Understanding
Structure and Routine for Positive Change
- During this course we will discuss how structure and routine help us to feel safe, create healthy habits and move towards our personal goals. We will explore how to set realistic goals for making positive changes and share lots of strategies to help you create a routine which works for you.
- In person: 3 hrs
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Living with Social Anxiety
- Social anxiety is the most common form of anxiety, and can have a substantial impact on our lives. This course looks at what social anxiety is (and isn’t), and how it may arise. We explore strategies and tools to help us live better with social anxiety, plus ways to get more support. This is a welcoming course for anyone who sometimes struggles in social situations.
- Online: 2x 90mins
- Category: Understanding
Understanding Anxiety
- What is anxiety and how how can we learn to manage it better? The course explores different types of anxiety disorders, how we can understand anxiety as a survival strategy, techniques to reduce worry, and where to look for further support.
- In person: 3 hrs
- Category: Understanding
Loss, Grief and Wellbeing
- During this course we will look at the various types of grief we can experience, and how grief can impact on our lives. We share wellbeing tips, and examine how we may be able to support someone who is experiencing grief.. During this course we encourage students to think about their own experiences of grief and loss. The course is not usually suited to anyone who has experienced a recent personal loss or bereavement.
- Online: 2x 90mins
- Category: Understanding
Introduction to the Caring Role
- This will give an outline of the important role unpaid carers play in providing support to others struggling with their mental health. We look at definitions of being a carer and offer an introduction to carers’ rights, as well as discussing creating a Wellness Recovery Action Plan to promote self -care. It is useful for anyone wanting to understand more about the role of carvers in mental health.
- Online: 90mins
- Category: Understanding
Boosting Confidence
- Mental ill-health often leads to a loss of confidence, making it difficult for people to move forward with their lives. Regaining confidence is an important part of many people’s recovery. This course will help you recognise your existing skills, and consider some practical ways to move forwards with increased confidence.
- Online: 2x 90mins
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Nurturing Hope
- This is a course for anyone keen to strengthen a sense of hope, whether you feel you are struggling to find hope at the moment, or if you feel like you have a small amount of hope but would like to increase it. We look at how we can define hope and how we can look for it using our five senses. We introduce the concept of making a hope box. In Week 2, we explore how hope is related to reaching achievable goals and we share with each other things which inspire us.
- Online: 2x 90mins
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Thinking about a New Role
- This is suitable for anyone thinking about taking on a new role in the future, whether it’s starting employment, changing jobs, starting to volunteer or taking on new responsibilities. We focus on setting individual goals and building confidence to take steps forward in a new direction.
- Online: 2x 90mins
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Learning to Manage our Mental Health for under 25's
- Specifically for Under 25s only we explore in a safe space what it is like to manage mental health as a young person. We will share top tips for emotional regulation and resilience, gain understanding of how to help ourselves as well as other young people around us who might be struggling. We look at the mental health services available for young people in Oxfordshire and provide information on how to access them.
- Online: 2x 90mins
- Category: Increasing Resilience
Healthy Sleep
- Together we will look at sleep - the physiological basics, the effects of poor sleep on our mental health, general wellbeing, and how we can learn to manage and improve our sleep.
- Online: 2x 90mins
- Category: Wellbeing
5 Ways to Wellbeing
- What are the 5 Ways to Wellbeing? Each week over 5 weeks we will think about the benefits of incorporating the 5 Ways to Wellbeing into our lives and share our struggles and successes within the group. Keep Learning, Give, Connect, Be Active, Take Notice.
- Online: 5x 90mins
- Category: wellbeing
Wellbeing at Work
- Together we will look at factors which help or hinder our wellbeing in the workplace and share strategies to manage our wellbeing better. We will introduce students to creating their own Wellness Action Plan. The course is suitable for any student thinking about entering or going back into the workplace (voluntary or paid) or students who are currently in work but considering how to increase wellbeing.
- Online: 2x 90mins
- Category: wellbeing
Telling your Story
- This 4-part course will support students to make their own short video story about one aspect of their recovery journey. Telling personal stories benefits our mental health by helping us reflect and make sense of things that have happened to us. Storytelling connects us to others and inspires us to cope with new challenges in the future. This will involve working on how to structure a story and use technology to create a short video. Please note: this course will involve sharing aspects of our personal stories within a group and requires students to have a smartphone/tablet/laptop which they can use for making their video story
- Online: 4x 90mins
- Category: wellbeing
Self Care for Carers
- The course is designed specifically for people who are supporting others struggling with their mental health. It explores the importance of self- care whilst supporting others. We look at the role of creativity in self-care and think about how we can build self - care into our daily lives. The course will include some simple creative activities to do together in the session as well as practice at home.
- Online: 2x 90mins
- Category: wellbeing
Food memoir Writing
- On this course students will write a short memoir about a favourite meal or recipe. Memoir writing helps us process and gain a new perspective on past events. It also helps us to build a stronger sense of self-identity and confidence. Please note this course involves talking about our relationship to food which can bring up strong emotions. Students will be invited to share a written memoir with the group.
- Online: 3x 90mins
- Category: wellbeing
Creative Writing
- Our online creative writing course explores the benefits of being creative for our mental health and suggests some techniques to develop skills in creative writing. We will learn about story structure, support each other to use our imagination and our senses to describe characters and situations. You do not need to have any experience in creative writing to attend this course, you just need an open mind and the willingness to have a go at being part of a creative writing group.
- Online: 4x 90mins
- Category: wellbeing
Conscious Doodling
- During the Conscious Doodling sessions you are given opportunities to follow short guided exercises using simple shapes and patterns, often inspired by the natural world, which may help you connect to the body and breath.
- Online: 3x 90mins
- Category: wellbeing