What is Peer Support for Mental Health?
Peer Support for Mental Health is where a community of people who have experienced mental health challenges or life struggles come together weekly through Online or In-Person Support Groups and share their own stories in a safe & confidential setting.
How it might help you and your Mental Wellbeing?
Everyone attending these groups openly give and receive help which in turn assists their own journey to recovery and mental wellbeing. We say in Grow Mental Health that ‘mental health cannot be taught, it has to be learnt together’.
We understand that everyone's individual recovery journey is both unique and different.
All our Support Groups are Free, No waiting lists or Referrals Needed and are Inclusive to everyone over 18 years.
The benefits of attending Peer Support Groups is that the person leading the meeting has experienced their own mental health challenges – you can connect and identify with them more easily. By hearing their recovery story and understanding the steps they took on their journey – gives hope and empowerment. You too can do the same. There has been research carried out to demonstrate the benefits of peer led recovery models – see results below.
Here are some examples of Grow Mental Health – Peer Support Groups which are currently running and have available spaces for you to join;
- In-person (face-to-face) support groups
- Online support group
- Men’s support group
- Women’s support group
- 4-Week Introductory Course
The weekly peer support group is structured around a proven task based program and method where each week you will take on a task to help tackle and cope with your own mental health challenges. By completing these tasks weekly you will soon start to see little differences in your life.
Peer Support Group Format:
The format for a peer support group which lasts ~ 1.5 hours includes;
- someone in the group telling their personal story,
- members reporting on their progress during the previous week,
- sharing the wisdom of the program and
- assigning tasks for each member for the following week. For example, a newcomer’s task might be to come back next week.
The best way to find a local peer support group near to you is to visit our website:
https://grow.ie/join-a-support-group/
You select your preferred “county” and then a list of the upcoming support group meetings in that county will appear on your screen.
You will see the date, time, location, name and phone number of the contact area coordinator so you can make contact ahead of the meeting.
Whether you are experiencing mental health challenges, or you just simply feel you cannot cope with what life throws at you or you know someone you’d like to help – our local groups are here for you. So please reach out to us.
All that is required to participate in our Peer Support Groups is a commitment to attend weekly, an ability to hear other people’s stories and openness to work in a small safe and confidential group setting and learn new ways of responding to life’s challenges.
All peer support groups are free of charge and open to anyone over 18 years of age. No referrals needed.
Just sign up to this Welcome Session so you can ask any questions before deciding to go on and register with one of our peer support groups.
The research concluded that those engaging with Grow Mental Health Recovery were:
- Less likely to say they were ‘bothered’ by their symptoms
- More likely to be coping well with their mental and emotional well-being
- Less likely to have had a relapse in the last year
- More likely to participate in community activities regularly
- More likely to achieve a personal goal
- More likely to have found it to have a positive effect on employment
- More likely to have a positive sense of their self-esteem
- More likely to feel ‘very optimistic’ about the future
- Unlikely to require hospitalisation for mental health reasons
- More likely to take part in physical exercise