Ask us anything about Peer Support Work

Hi @Former-Member

i had a quick look online for the foundations course and noted it was done by Vic health. I’m based in Sydney NSW, may be a silly question but would that make a difference?

Hi @Domo87,

Most of my study was done online but some things had to be done in person. When that was required I would go into my campus which was nice as it allowed me to connect with others students that I only typically interacted with online.

Maybe you could start out small - just one unit and see how you feel? I would just do one unit first time whether I had busy schedule or not as it takes a while to get your head around how the online practices work, your assignments etc (at least that was the case for me).

Sometimes I have learned you just have to jump in because if you start thinking about it and can become all consuming. For example, when my husband and I were thinking of having a child we kept hesitating because we were waiting for the `right time'. Then it dawned on me there is no `right time' - sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith.

Maybe you might like to try a bit of volunteering before you commit to any studies to get a bit of experience and a real feel for the work. For example, I volunteered with an organisation that did phone counselling. The training ran over three days and it was a good platform to start with.

Best of luck with it all.

FloatingFeather

Hi @FloatingFeather thanks for sharing your personal story and wise advice, I think what is holding me back is my own personal fears of failure and self doubt.

I really love your comment around taking a leap of faith. With more research I hope to have the confidence to back myself and go for it. With the help of you and the others I’ve already put a few steps in place to push forward.

thank you sincerely.

cheers

Great advice @FloatingFeather , hope it helped you @Domo87 !

Hi there SANE Community 🙂

I thought I might share this for those interested in Peer Work, the Cert IV in Mental Health Peer Work has online courses now (meaning, it's more accessible).

Here is some information about the course, as well as scholarship opportunities available 🙂

Thanks for sharing. I relate to full time work and studying. It has proven to be too difficult for me. I worked full time, was studying a masters and half way through decided to exit with a graduate certificate. Uni were really helpful. I registered as having a mental health disorder and was able to have extensions for assignments as part of my studying.
Good on you for identifying this is something you need to give further thought to.
: )

@Former-Member hi I just came across this as I have been focused on the bpd forums. I have worked as a disability support worker for nearly 20 years have a cert 3 and 4 in community services a cert 4 tae, have done mental health first aid, suicide prevention and worked with mostly mental health clients. I would love to do peer work when I'm ready to go back to work as I feel I've done my time doing just support work. Any advice would be great. Thanks

Heya @Sirine! Welcome! It sounds like you have so much wonderful experience and will be really useful for peer work!

From what you've said, can I ask if you want to do a volunteer role or paid work? And is there a specific thing you want some information on?

For me, before I dived into a role, I found it really useful to

• Define peer work for myself and in my own words, including identifying it's purpose and how it's different to other parts of the mental health system
• Reflect on my own lived experience and think about how I could talk about it with others

Hey @Former-Member I really just want to help people like me. Listen to them, support them in their journey. Make them feel worthy. Advocate if need be. I have been treated badly by the mental health system and I don't want to see someone else go through it. At the moment I'm looking for night fill jobs as I'm not ready to tackle support work right now. I guess that being said if I picked up a little volunteer stuff a day or two a week, I'd probably learn alot.

Then in the future hopefully get paid work.

@Sirine, that is a really beautiful reason why ❤️ I'm so sorry that your experiences were so rubbish in the MH system, and I know that your sense of justice can help change things.

When you're ready and if it interests you, I would really encourage you try applying to some paid roles. Lots of organisations, community mental health hubs and even hospitals are starting to have more and more of these roles.

In the meantime, what you're doing on the forums is wonderful. Just being yourself and connecting with others when you feel up for it is wonderful. You could think about peer work skills (understanding, connecting, sharing our own lived experience) and practice them with others. What do you think about that?