With-you Consultancy Ltd

Thanks to Institute of Government & Public Policy and all of yesterday’s speakers for spotlighting all of the fantastic work that’s being done to change the narrative around suicide. One of the most striking aspects of the day was the drive and passion to work in partnership with communities, suicide survivors, lived experience workers and peer supporters. The Q&A sessions raised sparked some interesting debate around the needs of lived experience practitioners and the organisations that are working alongside them. Some of the questions that members of the conference raised included: 🔵 How can we support those employed in peer-based role to work safely and ethically? 🔵 How can we support those working in peer-based roles who find themselves in a hierarchal system that sometimes do not value their voice or contributions? These feel like really important question to explore further, and it would be great to hear some views from the wider LinkedIn community! I also wanted to write down a few of my own thoughts to get some discussion going: 🤝 Peer support has been around for centuries, is linked to the Civil Rights Movement, and is grounded in its own distinct set of values. It’s important to maintain the uniqueness of peer work and for it not to be diluted. Having clear role profiles, quality training, support networks and reflective practice can help to maintain the authentic nature of peer work. 🤝 It’s important not to ‘parachute’ lived experience works into organisations. Plans might include training for all staff so that their hopes and concerns can be validated and worked through. Having a dedicated working group that includes senior managers and HR colleagues can help. 🤝 Peer workers can sometimes feel isolated. Having more than one peer worker per team can reduce isolation and also ensure that peer supporters receive their own peer support 🤝 Leadership is important and ideally, there would be staff working in managerial and strategic roles that are strong advocates for peer support. 🤝 Creating cultures of compassion and warmth within organisations benefits all staff including those with lived experience. Having dedicated spaces where staff can reflect on the emotional impact of the work is crucial. Leaders who are able to role model vulnerability and talk about their own emotions might enable others to do the same. Tools such as WRAP or Wellness Plans can help. 🤝 Team leaders and those supervising peer workers are given their own training and recognise the unique skills, knowledge and assets that people bring. Training can highlight the complexities of the role and how skills such as story sharing might be used in ways that feel safe and boundaried. My With-you Consultancy Ltd family may have other things to add! Feel free to reach out if you'd like any support from us 💙