Another fantastic Outward Bound week!

My wife Claire recently took a group of young people to the Outward Bound Trust in Howtown on Ullswater. This is a great opportunity for those people and I really admire Claire and her team with all the work they put in. Here's her report of their latest expedition!

During the last week of October we took another group of 10 young people recovering from psychosis to Howtown for a week of adventures with the Outward Bound Trust. Again a fantastic week was had by all. Although the weather was colder than our week in April we managed to get out and about everyday, hill climbing, canoeing, rowing, ghyll scrambling and even an overnight stay in a mountain hut!

This trip really gave me confirmation of how valuable outdoor activity can be for our service users. The young people we took were more medicated (thus subject to more side effects) and at an earlier stage of recovery than the April group but still they took part in everything with enthusiasm that I found completely inspiring.

We are really making this a regular part of our team's work. We have recently been successful in getting a 6k grant from the National Lottery which will pay for three more Outward Bound weeks, and on November 2nd we received the accolade of 'highly commended' at the Nursing Times Awards in the 'Team of the Year' category. I am so lucky to be part of such a special team.

For further information:

Early Intervention Team South Durham: http://www.aminormal.org
The Outward Bound Trust: http://www.outwardbound.org.uk