Study Group

@Blackcloud @MJG017 @tyme @defaultusername @Appleblossom

Hi guys,

I thought I should post one last time in this thread. I was successful in completing the cert IV Mental Health Peer Work this year. It was much more difficult a journey than I had thought it was going to be at the beginning of the year! I am really proud of my achievement. Thanks for all your support throughout the year.

Congratulations @Oaktree on completing your certificate IV. I'm sure you crushed it in the end as you're such a natural at this. Gold stars for you... ⭐⭐⭐⭐... one for each term.

@MJG017

Thank you for the gold stars!!!

How did your course end up?

@Oaktree

I'm all done as well. Rumour has it I even jagged a student award! Funny what you can do with a lot of time on your hands. 😁

But good to know that from when we both started out with this thread that hear we are all this time later, both successfully passing and getting our Cert IVs. Gold stars all around it seems. Thankfully you did your study in another state... otherwise i'm sure that award would have a different name on it.

Yay @MJG017

Congratulations on your award. You really deserve it. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A star for each term and one for your award! Woohoo!!!

Congratulations @Oaktree and @MJG017 in completing the cert iv in mental health peer work course!

I’ll be starting the course as well next year in February but I’m gonna be doing the cert iv in mental health one instead of the MH peer work one

honestly, I’m more worried about how well I’m gonna be able to interact with clients face to face during placements, let alone providing them support in the moment. But at the same time, I feel like I’ve gotten the idea on how I might go on about it (despite the uncertainty) if I can..

Good luck with your course next year @Blackcloud. I've toyed with the idea of going back to do the MH core units (3 or 4 of them) that I missed because I did the Peer Work cores. This way I'd have both Cert IV's. Not sure if it would come in handy, but it can;'t hurt and it gives me something to do. We actually had some students in our class that were doing the MH stream. We just split up during term 3 to do our unique core units.

Don't worry about the work placement, it's a great way to get a good look at the sort of work you might use the course for. I'm sure there would be a lot of supervision and you're six or more months into the course by then. Basically just listen and be empathetic. I think you'll enjoy it and be really good at it, so try not to stress too much. Remember that you'll have a team around you, so you wont be on your own. But I get all the uncertainty... it's something I really struggle with. Trust yourself. You'll be fine.

@MJG017 the support button doesn't work for me so I'm gonna respond instead. Thanks so much for the advice, I appreciate it ❤️

No worries @Blackcloud, keep us updated once you start. Good luck with it. (Not that you'll need it)

Hi @Oaktree and @MJG017 , I am considering doing a Cert IV in MH Peer Work in 2026 and wondering if I can pick your brains and thoughts about a few things?

I'll post my questions, and you can answer or not answer as you wish. 😊. No pressure to!

1. I want to do it by self-paced online study. But that seems to limit my options of who to study with A LOT. I don't know which organisations that offer this have a good or bad reputation. Is there any organisations that you would recommend looking at from good reports? I see the costs (full fee paying) vary a lot between places, and I read some reviews about one of the big ones (and cheaper ones) that they can be difficult when it comes to finding suitable placements. I am a very good self-studier, having done my Bachelor degree via distance education without problem.

2. My biggest concern is the 80 hours of practical. I have chronic fatigue, which fluctuates, and restricts my ability to work (number of hours as well as ability to work at times, especially face-to-face). I am actually taking this year off work to help improve my MH and fatigue/burnout. Peer Support is something I find fulfilling, which is why I think it would be positive for my MH to learn and possibly even work in the future in this field. It's why I'm fairly active on the forums.

Any thoughts or advice on suitable work experience? Something like volunteering on the forum or a weekly online support group would be ideal for me. Although I'd like to be able to do hours spread out a few every day or something so that I can manage it, but it doesn't take too long & drag out for too long to complete. ( @Oaktree was your Peer Guide role here part of your prac hours? If I am allowed to ask, otherwise please ignore the question).

3. How "well" does a Peer Worker need to be? I cope fine with supporting friends in face-to-face as well as people online here. I am able to not take it on personally as stress, whilst still genuinely caring. It doesn't seem to cause my MH to decline. However I guess I have concerns about whether Peer Workers are "allowed" to still have active MH struggles such as SI. When I graduated high school I was told by a few people that I wouldn't be able to work in counselling / social work because I had a mental illness. I know a lot has changed since then (including recognition of lived experience and Peer Work roles!!), but it still plays on my mind how "recovered" someone has to be for it...