Lara

Lara is a nursing student who attended Recovery Camp in May 2021 at Yarramundi in NSW.

“I really wasn’t sure what to expect from camp but when I arrived I found straight away that it was a very supportive and welcoming community. I also found that because the consumers were very comfortable and made to feel safe they opened up to the students very quickly. I was amazed by how open so many of them were to share their lived experience of mental health. And because of this I learnt more in 5 days with this community that I had in a whole semester of theory. I was also astonished by the changes in consumers that I witnessed over the first couple of days, most of them grew in confidence and found a voice that we hadn’t seen earlier.

On a personal level I also found that I was extremely well supported by the facilitators. Within my group our facilitator often found time to sit and explain what we were seeing in consumers, or why they were feeling they way they were. Kate also took the time to offer suggestions of the best way to communicate with different consumers based on their lives experience.

I highly recommend Recovery Camp to anyone who has the opportunity to attend. It was a wonderful community to be welcomed into and an unmatched learning experience for any nursing student. Thank you Recovery Camp!”

Lara, 2021

Student Nurse