IMHREC Sligo Conference, 5th May 2009; Consortium Members and Presenters. Left to right: Jimmy Murphy – Mayo Mental Health Association, Gerard Finnegan – CEO STEER Ireland, Geraldine Jolley – Development Officer Mental Health Ireland, Kieran Fegan, STEER Ireland, Karen Colligan, Piers Allott, Valerie Maguire – IMHREC Programme Coordinator, Frank Cameron – EVE Limited, Karen Quigley – IMHREC Dublin Development Officer, Betty McGeough & Phil Chambers of Mayo Mental Health Services.
Conference Presenters: Geraldine Jolley, Valerie Maguire, Kieran Fegan, Karen Colligan, Piers Allott, Phil Chambers.
IMHREC Members: Jimmy Murphy, Gerald Finnegan, Kieran Fegan, Valerie Murphy, Frank Cameron.
Sligo Conference May 2009: Tony Kelly, Serena Perceval and Mike Reinsford.
Sligo Conference May 2009: Aishling Ramsey, Gerard Finnegan, Martina McClean and Robert McNeill.
Sligo Conference, Castlebar Group: Bernie McHale, Eugene Mc Cormack, Mary McHale and Michael Gavin.
Sligo Conference May 2009: Betty McGeogh and Phil Chambers.
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Over 155 delegates crowded into the Glasshouse Hotel in Sligo on the 5th May last to hear about a fresh new approach to mental health which is being fostered in the North West. The buzz of refreshing new ideas was palpable as delegates listened to speakers such as Piers Allott, a Recovery and WRAP educator based in the UK, as he gave an excellent Key Note Address which was very well received. He was joined by Geraldine Jolley, local Development Officer for Mental Health Ireland who spoke on why we need to think differently about Mental Health Recovery.
In the afternoon delegates attended workshops giving a variety of both local and international perspectives on how WRAP can be used to enable people to manage and maintain their own wellness. These workshops were given by Piers’ again as well as by Karen Colligan from Sefton Recovery Group Network in the UK and Phil Chambers & Betty McGeough from Mayo Mental Health Services. Very favourable comments have been received by a large number of attendees and we look forward to receiving a large number of applications for the 2 day recovery workshops in the region.
One Comment on “IMHREC’s Sligo Conference extremely well received.”
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Good Afternoon,
I was recently a delegate at the Sligo Recovery Conference and wanted to provide some feedback.
The conference was exceptionally well organised and, given the huge over subscription / attendance, ran very smoothly. As a regular conference attender and speaker, I fully appreciate how tough it can be to keep events in sequence and time, so well done on that score.
Key to the success of the day for me was the high quality of presentations and the mix of English and Irish contributions. Also, I was delighted to again participate in a conference with a significant number of people with self experience – a mark of the fact that the times are definitely changing for the better as we do things together.
I have been working with recovery principles and practices for over ten years now, and have enjoyed watching my younger colleagues, many of whom would have had little experience working with people experiencing mental distress, become energised and excited by the endless possibilities. They too thoroughly enjoyed the conference and workshops.
Overall, the importance of this, and the other events, being so focused, well organised, and stimulating, is that this will bring absolute credibility to our recovery ‘movement’ and that will bring hope – more hope, and the culture change so much needed in mental health services, will gain more pace and momentum.
With very best wishes, and many thanks,
Mark Logan
Posted on May 27, 2009 at 5:17 pm.