[Fundación Mundo Bipolar: learning among peers in the service of recovery]

Due to severe mental illness, such as a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, people's quality of life may be seriously compromised and they may bear the risk of losing opportunities and being socially isolated as a result of stigma and discrimination. Early diagnosis is crucial, as a recovery process is possible with appropriate medical and psychosocial treatment. A person affected by such circumstances, with adequate training, can learn to handle his condition by himself and become expert by experience. This article depicts how learning among peers, based to a large degree on empathy, enables and promotes self management and, at the same time, a larger political and social consciousness. This has been affirmed by the virtual community of bipolarweb since 2002 and, subsequently, as a further development by the Fundación Mundo Bipolar. This foundation, which offers a training program for people affected by bipolar disorder, engages in several activities and goals which are described in this paper. It also has developed a multidisciplinary program for the training of trainers. Some features of these programs are summarized, with a special emphasis on the fact that trained students are encouraged to give lectures for high school students. This paper summarizes qualitative evaluations made by participants that have followed each of the sessions of the training programs.