Peer Supporters

What is a Peer Support?

A Peer Supporter is someone who uses their own lived experience to support someone else. They have ‘been there’ and moved on in their lives so they embody recovery and messages of hope. Peer Supporters have found ways out of similar crises and so bring experience and confidence to support others and know how important it is to have someone who believes in you, takes you seriously and gives you time and space to find your feet.

The role of a Peer Supporter

Support Service Users during their care and treatment:

• Utilise and draw upon their own lived experiences in order to share insight, understanding, compassion and empathy with others on their own journey of recovery.
• Supporting their carer’s and supporters, to champion hope and recovery.

Challenge stigma, promote hope and recovery:

• Although not an advocate, you are the voice of Service Users.
• Help staff in their understanding and awareness of what it is to be a Service User and the potential day-to-day challenges associated with this.

Visible:

• Your support should be offered to all Service Users (or their Carers) when they come into services, they need to know they can access this valuable resource.

Directly:

• Work with service users to focus on their individual strengths, hopes and goals.

WRAP:

• Introduce Wellness Recovery Action Planning when the Service User is able to have a meaningful contribution to the process.

Care Plans:

• Be involved in care planning.

Recovery:

• Working into Recovery Colleges to provide recovery and wellbeing programmes and courses.
• Facilitating group work to help Service Users to take their next steps, and to champion hope and recovery in the wider community.