UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM

The University of Birmingham is located in the English West Midlands and is a Russell Group public university with approximately 38,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. It was the first university in the UK to set up its own Collegiate Recovery Program. The Better Than Well program was founded in 2021 and is located within the Institute for Mental Health in the School of Psychology. It has strong links to the Mental Health & Wellbeing Service on campus and has been supported by a philanthropic grant for its first 2 years of operation. The program is open for students in abstinent recovery from any form of addiction (drugs, alcohol or behavioural). The Program Director is an academic addictions psychiatrist, and our Program Manager is a recent graduate student in long-term recovery. We have a private drop-in space located in the heart of campus where students can receive one-to-one support and hold a weekly Celebration of Recovery meeting for students and their supporters. There is a weekly share meeting on campus in the style of a 12-Step Fellowship group, and a weekly SMART Recovery group. Meditation and yoga is offered weekly, and there is a monthly sober social event. In 2022 we have started a 12-weekly program aiming to educate students about the role of the mind-body connection in recovery, with a mind seminar, a body/breathwork workshop and a movement workshop each week. We run one public engagement event on campus each semester, which may include film screening and discussion or presentation of academic work around addiction and recovery. As of 2022/23 we have established recovery accommodation on campus in partnership with the University, and plan to develop an addiction and recovery ally scheme. The only stipulation for joining BTW is being abstinent and wanting to work on your recovery. There is a pathway to full membership for those who are not yet in stable recovery and BTW supports students in active addiction find treatment either within the university or in the wider community