Empowerment College Bremen

Educational program / project by FOKUS – Center for Education and Participation

The Empowerment College is an educational space for all people, with all their abilities, experiences, opportunities, and challenges. Anyone with a personal or professional interest in mental health topics is welcome. For effective collaborative learning, it is helpful if you are willing to participate in a group setting and share your own experiences.

This offer is aimed at:

• People with experience of psychiatry and crises
• whose relatives
• Staff of the psychosocial support system
• People from the neighborhood

All courses are based on the principles of recovery and empowerment.

We are convinced of the benefits of experiential learning and knowledge acquisition. Therefore, we utilize both in the development and delivery of courses, as well as in the ongoing development of our college – everything we do is co-productive. The EC is a unique learning environment that enables participants to learn from each other.

The EC's goal is the personal and professional development of its participants. Our courses and workshops support and guide people in living self-determined and responsible lives. We impart knowledge and practice recognizing and advocating for one's own needs, rights, and boundaries. At the same time, we provide information on topics related to mental health. In our courses, we promote the transfer of knowledge between experts by experience and professionals, thereby contributing to greater equality and quality in psychiatric care.

Why are we doing this? – The background

To learn is to grow.

Education is a crucial building block for many people, enabling them to expand their options, promote their recovery, and participate in society. Education represents opportunities and development, taking control of one's own destiny, forging one's own path, for freedom, and for access to new resources. At the same time, people with mental health conditions continue to face numerous barriers to access. This is where the Empowerment College concept comes in, filling a gap in available services and fulfilling a key requirement of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – participation in education.

At EC, we aim to facilitate new experiences beyond conventional role assignments. Our concept of experiential learning fosters insights into different perspectives (family members, those affected, and support system staff). This promotes mutual understanding, enables participants to learn from one another, and helps to clarify misunderstandings and dismantle prejudices. In a learning lab, all participants can gain new perspectives and practice new ways of reacting and behaving. Independent of their assigned roles, everyone involved can experience new things in their specific life and work situations through the exchange of different perspectives.

This is supported and facilitated by the collaborative composition of the trainer team. For those working in the psychosocial field, the concept offers the opportunity to gain more confidence in dealing with those affected, but also, of course, to learn new skills for themselves. Users of the support system, family members, and other interested parties not only gain new knowledge that makes them more independent in dealing with the challenges of daily life, but also insight into the mindset and motivations of the professionals, and get to know them as individuals, which practically promotes inclusion and equality.

As a guideline for our work and course development, we have established six basic principles to which we are committed:

• Co-production
• Experience-based learning
• Quality assurance
• Inclusion
• Community orientation
• Empowerment and Recovery

For more in-depth information, you can download our publications “The Empowerment College: Recovery and Education” or “Knowledge is the Key to More Inclusion and Equal Opportunities” as PDFs (website).

Our offer for skilled workers:

We offer professional development courses where they can engage with family members and those affected by mental health challenges. These courses provide expert input and ample opportunity for sharing experiences from diverse perspectives. This allows participants to broaden their understanding and expertise outside of direct client contact. Furthermore, professionals can personally benefit from the course content by addressing their own specific issues.

Our offer for relatives:

They have the opportunity to learn from professionals and from the experiential knowledge of those affected. This allows them to come to terms with their own situation and the situation of their ill family members. With more distance, they can reflect on their own situation and, if necessary, change it within a guided framework.

Our services for people with experience of psychiatry and crises:

In our courses, we offer participants the opportunity to have a different experience in an educational context than in many treatment situations: as students, participants are active, self-directed individuals who control their own learning process. Their existing experience is valued as a resource, and through exchange with others, new experiences, perspectives, and insights can be gained that provide impetus for their own lives.

Information on requirements and registration