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Peer Support

Get and give support and talk with others who share similar experiences of mental health

What is Peer Support?

Peer support is when people use their own experiences to help each other.

Can the Peer Support service help me?

The Peer Support service is available to people:

  • aged 16 years and over
  • who are registered with a GP in Kensington and Chelsea or the Queen’s Park and Paddington areas of Westminster
  • and who have mental health needs.

 

 

Blue square with white text. Text reads boost your confidence. Join social activities. Get and give advice. Sign up for peer support. Get started. Clicking this button will take you to the self-referral form where you can register for peer support.
Click the image to complete the online referral form for peer support.

Peer Support can help you to feel less isolated and increase your confidence. It gives you a chance to:

  • develop self-management of your mental health
  • get or give support
  • talk to others with similar experiences who understand your mental health problems.

Refer yourself by completing this simple online form or email [email protected]. Alternatively, you can ask your GP to refer you.

See our upcoming events, activities and groups here

a group of people sitting around a talking talking during a peer support group
Click to see all upcoming peer support groups and activities

What help does Community Living Well Peer Support offer?

Peer Support offers peer-led and peer-facilitated activities, which focus on your strengths, hopes and ambitions and can help you develop skills and strategies to manage and maintain your emotional and physical wellbeing.

Peer support can help you through:

  • Feeling accepted by others who share your experience
  • Developing and sharing skills
  • Reducing feelings of isolation
  • Building confidence and emotional resilience
  • Building new relationships

 

 

A peer support member said, peer support helps my wellbeing. I've made a few friends through it and it's good to be with people who get it in terms of my depression and anxiety.

Types of Peer Support

Peer support services can help people in different ways. Community Living Well Peer Support provides a wide range of options depending on your needs and goals.

Peer Support Groups

Give and receive mutual support in a peer support group to manage daily stresses, online or in-person.

Structured self-help peer support groups aim to bring people together to share their experiences of dealing with mental health issues. It’s your chance to talk about your mental health, an opportunity to learn about how others in similar situations manage their lives and connect with people who know what it’s like to feel the way you do.

Groups include support for people of specific communities, such as LGBTQIA+, women’s peer support, and support through art.

One-to-one

Meet with a peer support worker (this may be over the phone), talk through emotional challenges and share coping suggestions. Talking helps, but not everyone is comfortable talking in a group and even if you are, sometimes it’s nice to be able to talk to someone on a one-to-one basis. When you’re talking with a peer you are with someone who is equal to you, not a professional therapist or counsellor. It’s someone who can put themselves in your shoes.

Sometimes just having a safe space and time to talk is enough. The peer support worker is there to listen, relate to how you feel and even offer practical tips they themselves have used to overcome similar difficulties.

Social Peer Support

Social peer support provides friendly meet ups where you can connect with others in a safe, supportive environment to join in an activity, or just spend time with people who have a similar interest and shared experience.

Social peer support activities include walking, culture, arts, singing, social trips and much more. Some activities are face-to-face and others are online.

Living Well Workshops

Living Well Workshops provide a safe and supportive space to develop skills to manage the stresses and difficulties in your life. Each session is different, covering a variety of subjects. Learn alongside peers who may be experiencing similar difficulties. Living Well Workshops are co-facilitated by a peer trainer.

How to access peer support

You can refer yourself quickly and easily by:

Alternatively, you can ask your GP or other professional involved in your care to refer you to Community Living Well.

To receive regular updates about the Peer Support service, sign-up here

For our list of eligible GP practices please click here.

Community Living Well Peer Support is provided by Kensington & Chelsea Mind

How we can help

Do you want to refer yourself to Community Living Well?

Self-Refer Here

Working together for your mental wellbeing
SMART St Mary Abbots Rehabilitation and Training