A mental health support service which has helped hundreds of adults in West Berkshire says it will close if the NHS presses ahead with a decision to withdraw its support.
Recovery in Mind delivers free courses to people experiencing mental health challenges without the need for a GP referral.
Recovery in Mind runs out of Broadway House
For the past 10 years the organisation has enjoyed the help, expertise and experience of two part-time occupational therapists – paid and employed by Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BHFT) – who have worked solely with Recovery in Mind designing and delivering its specialist courses.
But Angela Ryan, who set up and leads the ‘recovery college’, says she’s been told by BHFT that the two mental health professionals will be redeployed later this summer to other community work.
It’s a decision, she says, that puts the service at risk as it will be impossible for the organisation to find any additional funding elsewhere to fund replacing the roles.
She explained: “They will stop working at Recovery in Mind at the end of July 2026.
“Recovery in Mind will therefore have no professional mental health trainers, which means we cannot continue to offer our service in its present form.”
Angela Ryan from Recovery in Mind
A message on the organisation’s website explains it can no longer accept new clients to courses at Broadway House.
Angela says she will spend the next 12 months winding down services – ending support to all existing students by next spring.
She added: “We will be running a range of courses this summer term in an endeavour to ‘end pieces of work’ and start signposting existing students on to other local community resources.
“To be clear, from September 2026 until the end of March 2027 we will be running a small selection of workshops only for current Recovery in Mind students with the closure of our service in spring 2027.
“We know from the feedback from professionals, that our service has been highly valued by students and the people who encourage them to attend, so it is with much sadness that we find ourselves in this situation.”
Angela says with services oversubscribed she cannot understand the decision. Picture: iStock. Mental health stock image
Angela, who started Recovery in Mind as a result of her own mental health challenges, and because of a lack of a recovery college in West Berkshire, describes the decision as short sighted.
“It’s been a community effort and I’m very disappointed that BHFT have decided not to see the value in supporting present and possible future adults who require mental health support via access to a Recovery College in our community of West Berkshire,” she said.
“It seems ironic that at a time when mental ill health is on the rise, services are oversubscribed and resources are scarce they have made this decision.”
BHFT said in a statement: “For the past 10 years, Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has funded a full-time occupational therapist role, seconded from our community mental health services, to work with Recovery in Mind in West Berkshire.
“We recognise that the decision to end this secondment from 31 July 2026 will be disappointing for those involved.
“This follows a careful review of how we deploy our specialist clinical workforce to best meet the needs of local people.
“Our priority is to ensure that people with the most significant and complex mental health needs can access the right clinical support at the right time.
“Currently, our West Berkshire community mental health team, which supports around 1,000 residents with a serious mental illness (SMI), does not have occupational therapy input.
“Returning this role to the team will help strengthen support for people’s recovery and reduce the risk of avoidable hospital admissions.
“We value the contribution that Recovery in Mind makes to the local system and are continuing to work with them and our partners to explore how we can support its ongoing offer in the future.”