Peer support
We have a vibrant team of peer support workers and lived-experience practitioners who work in the design and implementation of our peer support services, training and other activities involving lived experience of accessing mental health services or mental health distress.
Our Trust has a long history of employing lived-experience practitioners and delivering peer-led work. We valued and embraced the first-hand experiences of people with mental health challenges and their carers, as well as their experiences of accessing mental health services.
We count on over 60 peer support workers and lived-experience practitioners across all our service lines, using their stories to inspire hope, empower others and role model recovery amongst our colleagues, patients and friends, families and carers. Our lived-experience workforce is made of people from all walks of life and their experiences and stories are as diverse, as that of the people we care for.
Our peer support workers and lived experience practitioners work closely with the Trust clinical teams and operational managers, the local crisis cafes, the Recovery College, our voluntary sector partners, and our wider networks to ensure we deliver the best quality of care for our patients and their carers.
The lived experience workforce continues to benefit from engaging in peer-to-peer supervision, creating personal wellness action plans, accessing peer support and other statutory training, and participating in a monthly peer support and development group with other colleagues doing lived experience work.
We know that people who are interested in peer support and lived experience work have different reasons to do so. We take these reasons into account and are committed to ensuring that our peer support and lived experience workforce maintain their wellbeing and enhance their professional experience through the work they undertake.
Whether you want to give back to the community, help shape the services that support you or the person you care for, share your recovery story with others, inspire people finding it difficult, or simply be a listening ear, we might have a role for you.
We have roles that might suit people who are approaching their professional life alongside their recovery journey. We work closely with our Involvement Team and our volunteers, ensuring we create professional development pathways and extend opportunities for career development that are tailored to every practitioner’s needs.
People interested in accessing peer support services or joining our lived experience workforce can get in touch with our Peer Support and Lived Experience workforce lead, by emailing involvement@swlstg.nhs.uk or calling 020 3513 5775.