Peer support, according to research by the Mental Health Foundation, can dramatically increase people’s well-being, leading to fewer hospital visits, wider networks of friends and family, higher levels of self-esteem, and greater social skills. One of the most common sayings is that only someone who has experienced the same hardship as the subject can truly appreciate it. A strong peer-to-peer friendship can be developed through the unreplicable link created by the sharing of experiences, thoughts, and behaviors.
As a Peer Support Worker for the Work Your Way service, what you do for the Trust is assist clients in obtaining paid positions that match their abilities, capabilities, and career goals by working with your committed Employment specialists.
Turning Pain into Purpose
You were drawn to this position because you had traveled a similar journey to the people you would be working with, and you could bring an empathic vision and original perspective. The previous year wasn’t easy for you; you were dealing with bad mental health and felt a little lost and aimless.
As you worked to rebuild your career, you turned to employment support services to boost your drive, serve as a constant reminder of your value and abilities, and go on the journey with you. You really appreciated the assurance they gave you and the comfort of knowing you weren’t alone in your search for a meaningful job that you could enjoy without dread.
There are varied reasons why peer support can help in improving one’s mental health condition:
Mutual empathy and understanding
When enduring adversity, it may seem as though no one fully comprehends or has ever experienced the same thing.
Peer support helps people feel less isolated and more at ease since they are around others who can openly and honestly share from personal, lived experiences. It serves as an essential component of the peer process and can be consoling for both parties.
Listening
To listen without passing judgment and comprehend what another person is going through is a critical competency for every peer support worker. The best way to make someone feel acknowledged, validated, and confident is through your ability to listen. Open-ended inquiries can then be used by peer supporters to gain a deeper understanding and affirmations to reassure one another that they actually comprehend.
Seeking solutions
It is a misperception that the goal of peer support is to offer ideas and responses based on personal experience. Helping our clients realize their own path through recovery and assist them in making independent decisions is a crucial component of our function. Sincerity, transparency, and helping one another come to wise decisions securely are all part of this reciprocal process.
Complementing clinical support
To provide a distinctive service that is occasionally not possible elsewhere, we collaborate with healthcare teams and experts. We enhance a person’s treatment and the healing process by providing a fresh perspective on what they are presently receiving, all the while continuing to work toward the same objectives for the client. By giving each person an additional channel to receive individualized support and direction, we also lessen the reliance on medical teams.
Giving reassurance
Peer support offers a number of reassurances that might improve one’s wellness, which is one of the most important ways it helps a person. We provide people the comfort of knowing they are not alone, that rehabilitation is possible, and that we can assist them in achieving their objectives. We also draw on our personal experiences to reassure others that we are able to truly comprehend their situation and empathize with them. As we realize the advantages it can have on both our clients and ourselves, it is very difficult to reproduce this relationship elsewhere, which makes our work incredibly fulfilling.
Peer support involves individuals who have had comparable experiences in dealing with a diagnosed mental health problem engaging in various activities and interactions. The reciprocity—often referred to as “peerness”—between a peer worker and a person receiving assistance fosters connection and fosters hope. Peer support provides a degree of acceptance, comprehension, and affirmation that is rare in other professional interactions.
Effectiveness of peer groups
Assistance from peers is a crucial and successful technique for continuous health care and persistent behavior change for persons with chronic diseases and other disorders, according to a large body of evidence. At the community, organizational, and societal levels, people can also experience its advantages. According to studies, social support can be used to: reduce the rates of illness and mortality, lengthens life expectancy, increase understanding of a condition, enhance self-efficacy minimize the need for emergency services by increasing self-care abilities and self-reported health status, including medication adherence. Social support providers also include reduced depression, increased self-esteem and self-efficacy, and enhanced quality of life.
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