Notts HC Peer Support Development Team

This week is week 🧡

We are constantly receiving the message that is good for our and and of course wit absolutely is

But the power comes when we are met with someone who can truly

Listening is actually a real skill. There are so many aspects to what makes up growling seem and heard when we share what’s happening for us

Some top tips to check on when someone is bravely sharing something with us

🧡 Be present

Are you in the moment and tuned in to what is being said? Are you in the moment or trapped in your head?

🧡 Body language

Are you making eye contact? Are you relaxed and leaning in? Are you nodding to show you are hearing and understanding?

🧡 Your why

Why are you listening? The space you hold for someone can be powerful if you are listening to understand and validate feelings rather than give advice or try to fix or solve. Holding space for someone to feel heard and understood is empowering

🧡 Evidence

How do we know when someone is listening to us? We get evidence through feedback- including all@of the above but other ways can be to ask open ending questions, paraphrasing and clarifying

Active listening is a huge part of peer support 🧡 feeling listened to helps us feel part of the world. It’s helps us feel connected, valued and not so alone

While we continue to strive towards people talking we must consciously work towards knowing how to listen 🧡🧡

This week is week. This year the focus is

Loneliness has a huge impact on our mental and physical health

This week is a time to reflect and unpack our own experiences with loneliness as well as think about what loneliness is and how we can individually and collectively work towards feeling less lonely and knowing what tools and resources support us to do that 🧰 🧡

couldn’t be more applicable for peer support because that’s the heart and soul of the work we do- we are expert by experience and draw upon that loved experience to offer a safe space to listen without judgment and inspire hope 🧡🧡

🤩 this year we have had so much interest in our Online Introduction to Peer Support Course we have had to create extra dates AND put on bespoke courses for different services and organisations 😍

What benefits has this had?

🧡 It’s dramatically increased the standard of applications that we have received as those that have attended gained a real understanding of what it means to be a peer and what makes the role so powerful and unique

🧡 It’s helped us raise awareness of peer support- the benefits of having peers in multidisciplinary teams and how the skills and values support both the people we work with and the teams that we sit within

If you want to come along drop us an email and we will send you more information [email protected]

Our online introduction to course has been going down a storm recently 🧡

If you would like to find out more about peer support it’s the perfect opportunity