In Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital a place known for its mental health services, but also home to something truly transformative: The Butabika Recovery College (BREC)
Established in July 2015, BREC was more than just a new innovation, it was a revolution in mental health care. It became the first of the kind in Africa, built on a brief that recovery is possible and those who have lived through mental illness can play a central role in helping others heal.
A New Vision for Mental Health: Traditional mental health care had always relied heavily on medication, therapy and hospital-based care. But something was missing, the voice of experience. BREC brought something different to the table: the power of peer support.
This wasn’t therapy in the traditional sense. It was about sharing stories, learning together and finding purpose after pain. It was about those who had once been patients stepping forward as Peer Support Workers (PSWs)individuals who had lived through mental illness and could now walk along side others on their journey of recovery.
These Experts by Experience were not professionals trained in a classroom, but survivors trained by life. And yet they worked side by side with doctors, nurses and therapists co-producing and co-delivering programs that touched hearts and changed lives.
Building a community of Recovery: Inside the recovery College, the atmosphere was different, there were no white coats, no clinical detachment. Instead, there were conversations and circles of support, people talked about acceptance, Spirituality and Stigma. They explored what it meant to feel useful again to find hope and to dream beyond their diagnosis.
Who are the Peer Support Workers: At the heart of BREC are the Peer Support Workers; these are people who have walked through the storm through depression, psychosis, anxiety, addiction and come out the other side? They have not only survived but grown through their experience. "Their strength lies not in academic degrees but in their honesty and courage to say I have been there too".
Interestingly, not all who work at BREC as professionals as PSWs, only those with personal experience of mental health challenges who are open to sharing their stories can truly wear that title. But professionals play an essential role in supporting the process, offering structure, skills and compassion.
A pathway from Hospital to Home: For inpatients at Butabika, BREC represents a bridge between the hospital and the World outside. Identified by their care teams, these patients are introduced to BREC while still on the ward. They attend sessions on themes such as;
- Hope and Recovery
- Spirituality and meaning
- Dealing with Stigma
- Finding purpose and setting goals
- Building relationships
- Expressing oneself and being understood
- Accessing finances and quality services
Through this approach, BREC ensures that discharge is not the end but the beginning of a new life with skills, confidence, and community.
Outpatients and community members are also welcome. With guidance from the Occupational Therapy Department, they can attend sessions, access peer support, and become part of the recovery movement.
Changing the Conversation: BREC is not just a program it’s a movement for change. It challenges the idea that mental illness defines a person. It raises awareness across Uganda that recovery is real and that healing happens not only through medicine, but also through connection, purpose, and support.
By including the voices of those who were once silent, BREC is influencing policy, improving care, and transforming attitudes one story, one person, one recovery at a time.
A future of possibility: As the sun rises each day over Butabika, a new chapter begins for someone walking through the doors of the Recovery College. Perhaps they come in scared and unsure. But by the time they leave, they carry something powerful and that’s Hope.
They leave knowing that they are not alone. That recovery is not a myth. That their voice matters.
And in that, BREC is not just changing lives it’s rewriting the future of mental health in Africa. After session, patients were divided into different groups to allow one on one discussions.
