What is Peer Support?
Peer Support is a free service for adults based in West Essex (Uttlesford, Epping Forest and Harlow) where you will be guided by one of our trained Peer Support Mentors. A Peer Support Mentor is someone who uses their own lived experience of mental health challenges to support others. They’re not a therapist or counsellor, but someone who has weathered their own storms and come out the other side, inspiring hope that recovery is possible. You may hear your peer support mentor say ‘ I understand’, ‘I am here for you’ or ‘ maybe you could try this..’
Peer support can be helpful for a wide range of emotional challenges such as low mood, depression, stress, anxiety, excessive worry, bereavement or a lack of motivation. Through up to nine one-to-one sessions, your peer support mentor will work alongside you, listening without judgement, offering encouragement and sharing wisdom and insights from their own journey. During peer support, you will explore what matters most to you, be guided to set meaningful goals and identify coping strategies that work for you. Your peer support mentor can also support you in connecting to your local community, other support services and to help you to regain a sense of control over your own recovery journey.
To note, peer support is non-clinical and we are not a crisis service. Peer support is a goal focused service that aims to provide support for those that are experiencing mild to moderate mental health challenges.
I feel like this was the most helpful experience I’ve received in my 7 years of being in the mental health services
It’s an excellent and effective service that has been extremely helpful. I felt like I was never judged and always understood.
A few months ago I wouldn’t have thought any of this was possible, but I’m so grateful that it is.I have some hope back in my heart and I’m looking forward to taking further steps back into my life.
Amazing service, so helpful and personalised to what I need at each stage. I would highly recommend this service to anyone who is struggling
How does peer support work?
Upon acceptance of a referral, you will be allocated a peer support mentor who will then conduct a triage call to obtain some further details and see whether the service is right for you. If we are not suitable for you, we’ll help you to find the right level of support elsewhere and make sure that you feel supported in this process. If we feel we are the right service for you then you will then be offered up to nine, one-to-one support sessions with a dedicated peer support mentor. Sessions will mainly be carried out in one of our hubs or in the community at a location decided between the service users and peer support mentor such as a community space or library, if this is in line with their goals.
There is also an option for the delivery of telephone support sessions upon request. It is a requirement of the service that you are willing to engage on an appointment basis.
To learn more about how peer support is different from other kinds of help, you can read an article by The Tad Project https://thetadproject.
Groups
Our community groups are aimed at providing a safe space where you can share your feelings and experiences. The groups are run by a volunteers with lived experience of mental health challenges themselves.
Please see the link to our groups where you can sign up to attend. The group is also entirely free.
Community activity groups:
Find out more about out community activity groups by clicking the link here.
