What is a peer worker?
Peer workers are people with lived experience of mental health challenges, autism or a learning disability. Our expertise comes from our own personal experiences. We are trained in how to use our lived experience, and work to peer values, to support you and your care. You can choose whether you would like to work with us.
What is the aim of peer support?
Sometimes it helps to know that you’re not alone and someone else has been through something similar.
We believe that everyone deserves to be listened to and treated with compassion and respect. We hope to develop a supportive peer relationship. Together we can learn about, and work towards, the things that are important to you.
What we do
Peer support workers provide one to one and group support.
We will meet with you to discuss the things that matter to you. This might be things:
- that are impacting you
- you are finding challenging
- that could support your wellbeing / recovery e.g. hobbies and interests.
Because we have first-hand experience of mental health challenges, autism or learning disabilities, we can understand many of the difficulties you may be facing and can share things that we have both found helpful.
We work to the Trust’s co-produced peer support values which are:
- authenticity
- relationship
- validation
- respect
- mutuality
- empowerment.
We would be happy to talk with you about what these mean.
Where do we work?
We are happy to try to do things differently, and will agree with you where our meetings will take place. This will be at an appropriate location that works for both of us. This could be in a ward, clinic, your home or somewhere more public like a café or park.
Sharing information about you
We aim to adopt a “nothing about us without us philosophy” where we respect your wishes on what is shared further. We’ll also work with you to understand what is important to you and support your voice to be heard in your care.
As with any member of NHS staff, we need to record when we have met for an appointment, but we will always aim to work with you to co-produce notes from our time together. If there is something you don’t want included in your notes after we have spoken, we will work through this together to ensure we respect this wish as far as is possible.
However, sometimes you may share information that we are obligated to report, for example if there is a concern about safeguarding or duty of care. You can read more about this in patient and carer information L854 Common sense confidentiality.
L1061, V4, 12/09/2023 (Archive 11/09/2026)
