The Academy of Recovery and Expertise of Lived Experience (AREV), a project initiated by the Brussels Platform for Mental Health, is aimed at people struggling with mental health disorders or addictions, as well as those who have experienced trauma or suffered domestic and/or intra-family violence (verbal, physical or sexual violence). The academy also welcomes people in situations of poverty and/or social exclusion. Its objective is to promote recovery, empowerment and social inclusion.
By registering with the AREV, individuals abandon a passive role as a patient, precarious person or victim to become students of their own life. They develop a personalized training course, choose training modules that serve as tools to better understand themselves, understand their disorders and discover strategies to deal with them. Inspired by the experiences of their peers, such as peer helpers, students revisit their own stories, identify skills and goals achieved. Shared experiences, whether they concern life on the street, drug addiction, psychological distress or violence, allow them to recognize and value the resilience skills that were crucial in their recovery.