Peer Support

Peer support is when people use their own experiences to help each other.

We have a number of groups that use peer support to provide the necessary advice, encouragement and guidance for people who might struggle to make progress on their own and need a helping hand or two to move forward on their journey.

Forms of peer support include:

• Community /support groups    
• mentoring    
• befriending    
• self-help groups    
• online communities    

Support is based on sharing experiences and peer support has been proven to improve emotional health, wellbeing and sense of belonging for those who deliver and receive support of this kind.

Everyone's experiences are treated as equally important, so you might find this gives you a different experience to more traditional support options.

Talking to people who have been through similar challenges may:

• help you to open up freely about what you are feeling and experiencing
• help you share suggestions for coping techniques and support options
• introduce you to ideas and approaches that have been helpful to others
• reassure you that you're not the only person who has felt like this
• increase your self esteem and confidence over time help you see how common mental health problems are, and that everyone experiencing them deserves support
• provide a sense of belonging to a community of people with similar experiences
• give you a safety net to turn to at difficult times or if you’re at risk of crisis
• help you to find support that's right for you
• help you feel more empowered about your own wellbeing, if you feel disillusioned with the support you've received so far

the feedback we recieve from users speaks for itself:

‘I’ve made friends here. The volunteers are all lovely people and are good to talk to about my problems’.

if you are interested in our peer support groups click HERE for further info