If you have a problem- who would you like to talk to about it? Probably with someone who also has a similar problem? Probably it would be the best for you if this person has already solved his problem or has learned to deal with this problem?

It was a good chance to work as a facilitator in the P2P piloting course; it has helped me to review the basics of being an "expert by experience" in peer support. It is true that being a social worker in the field of education,

From my point of view it has been one of the most important actions we have carried out recently; it changed the culture and attitudes of service users and professionals too.

As an affected individual the recovery approach has become a very important part of my own recovery story – even before I knew what it was all about. In 25 years of experience in psychiatry I went through a transformation. Only later through my activity as a representation of interest for users I learned the terms “recovery” or “empowerment”.

Upon reflection of my recovery history, there are two push factors I have very consciously experienced. On the one hand there was the “denial” of psychiatry as the absolutely only system for the only chance of cure for my condition. I questioned the diagnoses and medications given to me very critically as I felt they were not helpful. In my most frequent stay at a psychiatric clinic, I noticed that the actual healing potential was not in the pills I swallow every day. It was not very satisfying or even comforting for me to know that my "abnormality" was a disease. In discussions with my fellow patients I gained an understanding that psychiatry could not offer. With black humor we gave each other a boost - laughter is healthy and makes you feel good. Informal conversations were often the beneficial and liberating moments of inpatient psychiatry´s daily routine. It was these conversations and experiences with like-minded people who were pushing me forward. Through them, my deep dormant skills and resources got closer to the surface again. In this collegial setting they could rise without assessment and had sufficient space!