GROW - A Community for Mental Health and Wellbeing
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 6:55PM GROW is a consumer driven, community based mental health organisation. In began in Sydney in 1957, and has since spread to Ireland, New Zealand and the USA. GROW was established in WA in 1967.
The GROW program and unique structure has been developed by "Growers" in the course of rebuilding their lives after a breakdown. They started forming mutual help, self activation groups that took on a person centred, health orientated, and community building approach to mental health.
We were first known as 'Recovery' groups but changed the name in 1975 in order to meet the increasing demand for the groups' services in pprevention as well as rehabilitation, and even more broadly for a popular school of life and leadership for mental health. Over the last 54 years, GROW has evolved into adult education which embraces the whole spectrum of problems in self understanding, self regulation and self sharing for mental health. GROW offers the WA community a research validated, consumer driven recovery program.
The service GROW provides is founded upon its weekly rehabilitation and mutual, peer support groups. These meetings are well-structured and provide a setting where people with mental health problems can come together for mutual support, personal growth and life-skills development, using a 12 Step Program.
Currently in WA, we have 30 GROW groups in the metro and country areas:
GROW groups are run by their own members; weekly meetings are structured to allocate time for:
- personal testimonies - offering hope and optimism,
- group work on members problems - with vital assistance from the GROW Program,
- assignment of tailored practical tasks,
- reports on progress, which offer encouragement to change and grow,
- adult education about maintaining mental health and rebuilding lives, and
- development of social skills and supportive relationships.
The weekly meetings do not operate in isolation. GROW has a well developed organisational infrastructure which provides supportive training, expanded literature, and a social network. GROW encourage people to become involved in:
- monthly training activities and live in training weekends,
- various GROW social events (outings, walking groups, coffee mornings, picnics etc.),
- residential community building weekends,
- for those so inclined and capable, training in public presentations on GROW and fundraising.
Last year there were 1296 GROW meetings held, with 8576 attendances. We are open to all, no referral is needed, just come along. GROW is free, anonymous and confidential.
Call freecall 1800 558 268 or www.grow.net.au for your local group details.
Blooming Minds provides group training and individual consultancy services to assist organisations to understand the impact of mental health problems in the workplace and to minimise the human and economic impacts of employee stress, anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses. We are based in Perth, Western Australia and deliver services throughout Australia and internationally.
Copyright Blooming Minds 2011. All rights reserved.
grow, mental health, support in Mental Health
Reader Comments (1)
I salute this GROW organization for their great job.Helping mentally ill person is really an exceptional job.I like the way GROW has evolved into adult education which embraces the whole spectrum of problems in self understanding, self regulation and self sharing for mental health.Thanks for sharing this fantastic post.
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