BIG in RECOVERY is for adults who consider themselves to have a mental health condition.
We meet every Tuesday evening at 6.15pm at the Bury United Reformed Church, Parsons Lane, Bury.
Consultant Psychiatrists from Fairfield General Hospital attend to discuss mental health topics and provide their support.
We provide a welcoming, safe environment where we enjoy sharing our experiences, supporting one another and providing a successful journey of recovery.yihoss
At BIG you have the opportunity to meet new people and make friends, gaining peer support and providing support to others.
The group enables you to learn about mental health, improving your knowledge and understanding.
6.15pm at Bury United Reformed Church, Parsons Lane, Bury.
Topics 2017
| 6th June | Anxiety | Matthew Coleclough – Anxiety Specialist |
| 13th June | Taking questions session | Karin Bacha – Psychologist |
| 20th June | Happiness | Dr Sadiq – Consultant Psychiatrist |
| 27th June | The meaning of recovery and sharing his experiences of 20 years of service user involvement. | Rowland Urey – Chairperson of Oldham Open Users Forum |
| 4th July | AGM (Annual General Meeting) | Trustees of BIG & guest speaker Karin Bacha |
| 11th July | How social media and the internet is changing us | Dr Sadiq – Consultant Psychiatrist |
| 18th July | Conversations 2: Projective Identification | Claire Bacha, Psychotherapist |
| 25th July | Borderline Personality Disorder & Mental Health Stigma | Paul Feeley |
| 1st August | Childhood trauma – the inner child and self parenting | Karin Bacha – Psychologist |
| 8th August | Lived Experience of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder | Sean O’Donnell |
| 15th August | Creative Living Centre | Shelley Dunec |
| 22nd August | Problem Moods – breaking the problem down, looking at the 5 systems approach. | Steven Lyon – Senior Lecturer & CBT Therapist |
| 29th August | A discussion about what would a whole person approach (both physical and psychological) service looks like | Psychiatrist Julia Hose |
| 5th September | Natural Energy Healing | Paul McCormick |
| 12th September | Acceptance and commitment therapy | Karin Bacha – Psychologist |
| 19th September | Service user experience – Approaching your GP about your mental health | Healthwatch |
| 26th September | Helping each other through conversations | Karin Bacha – Psychologist |
| 3rd October | Anxiety | Matthew Coleclough – Anxiety Specialist |
| 10th October | Launch of suicide prevention partnership between Samaritans & BIG | Terry Holland – Samaritan |
| 17th October | Needs in relationships | Karin Bacha – Psychologist |
| 24th October | To be confirmed | |
| 31st October | The psychological and biological explanations for depression | Kim Greenhalgh – Psychology Tutor |
| 7th November | Practical strategies for building self-esteem | Karin Bacha – Psychologist |
| 14th November | The experience of coming off medication | Rita Long |
| 21st November | Eating disorders | Karin Bacha – Psychologist |
| 28th November | To be confirmed | Consultant Psychiatrist |
| 5th December | Managing chronic pain | Karin Bacha – Psychologist |
| 12th December | To be confirmed | Consultant Psychiatrist |
| 19th December | BIG Christmas Party |
Please note RECOVERY is held every Tuesday.
Statement from Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Sadiq
The Consultants at the Irwell Unit, Fairfield General Hospital, are delighted to be in a position to support and be supported by, service users through BIG. We meet with BIG on alternate Tuesdays for 2 hour sessions between 6-15pm and 8-15pm. These sessions are attended by Consultants and Service Users. We ourselves are there primarily to learn about, and from, the experiences of service users about their
illnesses and their experience of services. This dialogue allows us an invaluable insight to how we can improve the care service users receive and also to evaluate what we do. We are very fortunate to be in a profession that allows us help alleviate distress that is caused by mental illness, and must continually look to how we can best do this. We have enjoyed and benefited hugely from the sessions so far and want to work hard to increase the membership of organisations like BIG.
Dr Asad Sadiq
Statement from Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Fernando
As a department we feel it is important to hear the patient’s voice, their thoughts on their experience
and how we can work together to improve the service so at the points of need, it is flexible and more
I think the benefits of working with service users is to the service, (more responsive, timely and smoother interactions, with more knowledgeable staff) and to patients who will be more informed about their condition, the available options to them in different circumstances, as well as further service development. I do feel as a group BIG has a lot to offer mental health services in Bury. Thank you for inviting us to take part.responsive. This is critical in developing a system that is both humane and efficient and I strongly believe the two can go together. We also would like to teach, but most importantly, learn from yourselves because service user experience (in life, dealing with their condition and from using the services on offer) offers them insights that would be instructive and educational to all staff who work in providing a service.
Dr Nihal Fernando
Dr Gupta
Comments from people attending BIG in Recovery
“helped me to meet other people who understand my worries and anxieties”
“has encouraged me to get out of the house and become more socially active”
“BIG in Recovery has enabled me to meet other people with similar issues to myself and has helped me gain more insight into other illnesses”
“reduce isolation and helped me to make friends”
” has given me focus in life and provided me with a safe haven”
“helped to reduce stigma in the wider community”
“provided useful information and signposted me to other relevant services”
“increased self-esteem and confidence”
“has given me one evening per week to look forward to”
“helped me to feel a valuable member of society”
“helped me to realize that I am not alone”
“being able to share my own experiences and listen to others within a caring and understanding environment”
“provides a stable and non-judgmental environment”
“helped me to stop feeling ashamed of myself and my diagnosis”
“encouraged me to discuss my mental health issues with others in the group”
“psychiatrists have helped me to learn more about my illness through their talks every fortnight and have given me the information needed to research the subject further, if relevant”
“played a major role both in reducing my isolation and my on-going recovery from anxiety and depression”
“provided me with somewhere I can interact socially which has helped in my recovery from social anxiety”
“given me a sense of purpose”
“helped me to stay well and out of hospital”
