Providing peer support in a changing environment during the pandemic has its challenges, but over the past months, collaborative working has shown that we have shared experiences of what works. This resource, for anyone involved in providing peer support, outlines best practice, tips, and information about remote support, including the move back to face to face.
Mind, Get Up Set Up, NSUN, Bipolar UK and Together for Mental Wellbeing came together to host forums over the pandemic with peer supporters, and the resource is an output from these sessions, capturing shared learning.
In the resource, we consider:
The information will be helpful to any groups and organisations who operate models of peer support.
You can download a Word document version of the resource here.
Throughout the mental health peer support world, different organisations have identified different sets of values or principles as underlying and defining peer support... NSUN's work with the a partnership of third sector and statutory organisations in Sussex identified nine principles: commonality, self determination, mutual benefit, hope, trust, diversity, equality, solidarity and empathy.
Mind and NSUN have published five case studies (pre-COVID!) of peer support models from across the UK, demonstrating the value of user-led organisations working at the interface with statutory services.
Click the logo to view the case study for an organisation.
Canerows peer support is based within the charity Sound Minds in South London. Sound Minds is a user-led charity seeking to transform the lives of people experiencing mental ill health through music, film and art. They describe themselves as 'a thriving community bound together by creativity and a shared belief in mutual learning and peer support'.
The Suicide Crisis Centre was set up by Joy Hibbins and supports anyone in Gloucestershire who is feeling suicidal. In particularthey aim to reach people who have disengaged with mental health services because services are not working for them; and people who would never access statutory services in the first place and need something different.
ReCoCo is a user-led collaboration between service users and the voluntary and statutory sectors. ReCoCo brought together Newcastle Gateshead Recovery College and the user-led organisation Launchpad into a new organisation. ReCoCo has now been running for five years.
Leeds Mind works with two local NHS services: the Rehabilitation and Recovery Centre and three CMHTs. The Recovery Centre is provided through a partnership of Touchstone, Community Links and Leeds Mind - together with the Trust, so there are other third sector staff in the Centre. Leeds Mind provide the only peer support workers in the Centre. There are two inpatient units, so the peer support offers in-reach to the wards and post discharge support.
The CAPITAL Project Trust is a user led organisation; founded in 1997, it is run by and for people with mental health issuesacross West Sussex. CAPITAL supports and trains people with mental health issues to enable them to be involved in improvingservices in a variety of ways.
For Word document versions of the case studies, please use the following links:
You can view the Peer Support Charter, laying out principles for peer support and created in partnership with organisations in Sussex, here.