The number of persons with diagnosed mental illness who start treatment has been steadily rising. The specificity of mental illness is that it leads to social exclusion (surveys show that as much as 75% of schizophrenia patients in Poland have disability pensions as persons unable to work). It is important to include the mentally ill persons themselves in the process of treatment of mental disorders, because they have the resources to support other patients and share with them the knowledge based on their own experience on how to cope with the illness.

The aim of the project was to support mentally ill persons through creating a training program for trainers - so called experts by experience. Based on the program, persons with the experience of mental illness will be prepared to provide competent assistance to other patients.

As a result of the implementation of the project, the program "Cogito Expert" was created, based on which first 12 trainers were trained - persons with the experience of mental illness who are willing to give assistance to other patients through education and motivation for self-development.

The program "Cogito Expert" was developed and consulted with two groups of mentally ill persons - each gathering 35 persons. Then, a pilot training was conducted for 12 persons with experience of mental illness that in all covered 56 training hours.

Beneficiaries of the project were 82 mentally ill persons, out of which 70 persons participated in social consultations, and 12 took part in the pilot training under the "Cogito Expert" program.