Peer support training is a type of training program that teaches individuals how to provide support and assistance to their peers who may be experiencing mental health challenges, trauma, or other complex life events.

Workplace Alive and Well Training’s Peer support training programs focus on helping individuals develop the skills and knowledge needed to provide emotional support, practical assistance, and other forms of help to their peers in a compassionate and non-judgmental manner.

Overall, peer support can be a valuable resource for individuals struggling with mental health challenges, as it can provide a sense of connection, understanding, and practical assistance that can help to improve mental wellbeing.

What is included in Peer Support Training?

• Initial and ongoing training
• Work site-wide promotion including posters, official launch with owners or Directors of the company, information for EDM’s and / or other communication channels.
• 5 weekly team meetings
• One on one supervision during training
• After hours support
• Ongoing monitoring and secure data collection via app

How is Peer Support implemented?

Peer Support is all about learning how to work collaboratively with each individual person to build and equal, safe, open and non-judgmental relationship that cultivates trust.

Some of the skills we work with you on include:

• Facilitating self-determination and how to encourage peers to take an active role in their health and wellbeing
• Learning how to respect where each person is on their journey and how to show that there is always hope
• A skill set to recognise that your own goals, values and beliefs may differ from your peers’
• Understand the importance of individual approaches to wellbeing
• How to maintain your limits and boundaries in the peer support relationship
• How to share your lived experience in a way that demonstrates compassionate understanding and inspires hope
• Play an active role in connecting peers to other resources
• Know your personal limits and how and where to seek help when needed
• A clear and precise way to practice self-care, and monitor your own well-being at all times

Benefits

There are many proven benefits to introducing a Peer Support network into your workplace, many of which also reach further than just the care and assistance of employees’ mental health and wellbeing. Proven results in workplaces commonly include:

• A reduction in the impact of stigma around Mental Health issues
• Better decision-making skills by employees
• An improvement in overall social function
• Decreased mental illness symptoms, and time away from work
• Lower rates and risk of isolation
• An increase in support and treatment seeking

Introducing a Peer Support program into your workplace also boosts staff moral overall, and provides all of your employees with an environment where they feel safe, respected and seen.