The EMILIA Project (Empowerment of Mental Illness Service Users: Lifelong learning, Integration and Empowerment) was a sixth frame-work European project conceived in 2005, with a goal to  improve social inclusion for mental health service users through the development and implementation of a training programme based on Life Long Learning (LLL) principles.

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Encompassing 16 European partners, training programs were delivered over 5 years. A total of 5 training packages were developed for mental health service users, professionals and families on the topics of developing personal strengths, recovery, family relationships, social networks and integration. The training created an open and interactive environment within hospitals and created a sense of empowerment among mental health service users.

Following this project, participants (users and staff) wanted to guarantee that the positive advances made were not forgotten, so they developed more training materials focused on communication and skills, learning more about the working of mental health institutions and social health services, collaborating with clinical teams and learning how to pass on relevant information, learning to learn from experience, learning how to encourage relationships between other users and their families with professionals, encouraging others to work towards empowerment.

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Having examined different areas within the mental health institutions and with the aim of improving at all time the services provided by the institution along with the users' personal recovery, the Expert by Experience profile was created (EbE). This EbE is a newly recognised working profile within the psychiatric hospital which aims to offer a better understanding of the mental health institution to other mental health service users, inform them about hospital layout and procedures, strengthen the relationship between service users and professionals, and stimulate the relationships between the service users and their social network friends and family.

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In Barcelona, in 2009 the EMILIA association was created.  The association is still running today, seeking to develop more training packages for service users, professionals and families, always based on Peer to Peer support to promote labour inclusion.

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The webinar explored how the principles aspired to in EMILIA have taken hold 15 years after the initial project, and how the area of empowering service users has developed since the development of the project.  The webinar featured participants from the original EMILIA Project and explore emerging approaches to Service User Empowerment.  Dr Emmanuelle Jouet provided the introduction to the Webinar, which was moderated by Silvia Rosado.

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The speakers were:
Prof Peter Ryan: The Emilia project: Impact 10 years on. 
Paz Flores, Silvia Rosado and Albert Piquer: The Emilia Project in Barcelona: past, present and future
Apostolopoulou Antigoni, Fotis Vassilopoulos, Sotiris Kotsanis: Epapsy’s current position on user empowerment
Martha Anczewska and Piotr Świtaj: EMILIA project sustainability in Warsaw demonstration site. 

Nika Cigog: "Peer Support recent experience in Slovenia".

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Click here to view the Speaker Bios. 

 

These are the recordings from the webinar: