Recovery Practitioner Service

How we’re supporting people every day with a variety of mental health problems

Front-line mental health support

To support people across Devon with their mental health, we have teams of Recovery Practitioners in each of our four localities. These roles deliver psychologically-informed interventions through one-to-one and group work, as well as acting as a link to the wider community to ensure people have access to effective, local, and sustainable support. Our Recovery Practitioners also link with GPs, primary care networks (PCNs), and mental health teams to help reduce waiting times and ensure that service users have access to the right support as their needs change.

There are a wide range of things with which a Recovery Practitioner can support, including:

  • coping skills development

  • accessing support services and groups

  • learning psychologically-informed self-help strategies

  • accessing learning and education courses

  • signposting to relevant services specific to your needs

  • accessing psychoeducational resources

  • support to access Devon Home Choice

  • accessing employment or volunteering opportunities

  • support to accessing benefits advice

  • accessing peer support and community networks

  • tailored one-to-one sessions

The impact we’re making — headline numbers

1,200+

service users supported as part of our Recovery Practitioner service

91%

average improvement in outcomes based on ReQoL-10 analysis

250+

people supported as part of new support groups set up by our team

~2,700

approximate capacity for Recovery Practitioner support across a year

Reflections from our staff

“I enjoy working with people from all different walks of life and making genuine connections and changes to a client’s day-to-day life — whether that’s helping with a PIP application or helping them to understand their own mental health.

It can sometimes be a challenge gaining the trust of a client, enabling them to open up and talk about their experiences. The main thing for me is just being there for someone and giving them that time to express themselves. It’s a great feeling knowing you’ve helped someone be heard and then continue to support them on their journey of recovery.

I like how flexible the Alliance is and how we offer different ways of supporting people through face-to-face, telephone, and video call work. By doing this, we can tailor our service to each individual and make our support person-centred. I helped clients regularly to access courses such as the BeWell programme, and the knowledge and support they have gained have been invaluable, with some clients still attending the peer support as and when needed.”

— Jannine, Recovery Practitioner in the Eastern locality