Lived Experience Forum

[maddison]

Thankyou @Daisydreamer you do such an amazing job at conveying the importance of being heard. I personally, feel encouraged & supported by your response. I think it's great that we can have open conversations like this. I think many of us have been in a vulnerable position in one time in our life. It's heartbreaking that schemes exist that proport to support vulnerable, when uncovered, are actually a system designed to exploit. My personal insight, is that we might not have the power to change corrupt systems - we do have the power - to empower each other on a personal level. The fact that SANE is open & willing to discuss realities of such systems makes me so enormously happy & proud!! It gives me great confidence that Peer Pathways will be a huge success, & participants needs will be high priority. I didn't necessarily doubt that it ever would not be - I can only relate to experiences, that other members have also shared. I'm sorry, if this has caused SANE to take unnecessary accountability for a system that has long been broken. My personal experience with SANE has been one of the most valuable and rewarding interactions of my life. I think other members could say the same❤️ Thankyou for everything y'all do😊 It's amazing!!!

[Daisydreamer]

@BPDSurvivor thank you so much for all the detail in your responses and the dot points! @yellowcorgi and I have noted all these down. I remember a while back you and I had a conversation about accessibility, so I am so glad to see you jumped onto this conversation to highlight accessibility- all your feedback including around accessibility is incredibly helpful

@Little_Leopard it sounds like you have also had similar experiences to @chibam around exploitation, and I am so sorry to hear. I'm hearing it's been a common experience for many people in this chat and having this space to share those experiences and support each other is invaluable. I am glad to hear that you feel safe with SANE and this community and I hope you feel this is a space where you can share your truth and be heard

@Appleblossom I am hearing your experience of peer support and that in your peer services in may not always fit with goals needs and strengths of every person. Such an important point about understanding experience and complexity, and being mindful of how each persons experience and perspective is held and respected in a way that is validated. That's something I really value as well and thank you for raising it. @Little_Leopard also agreed with your mention of not having a one size fits all approach, and that's something we will also ensure we embed throughout the program to ensure there is flexibility, diversity of pathways and choice

[chibam]

Thank you, @Appleblossom , @maddison , @yellowcorgi , @hanami & @Daisydreamer ! 😊

No, @maddison , I hadn't seen that "C'mon C'mon" movie yet. I'll keep and eye out for it!

@Daisydreamer, It's really great that you guys are consulting so openly with the community, in the process of developing this scheme. But I think one of the most important things to remember is that there will almost certainly be problems that we can't foresee, so the scheme will need to be set up with enough flexibility to be able to properly deal with such unforeseen foundational problems as quickly as possible.

[Patchworks]

Hi, I'm just catching up on the thread and I haven't read it all yet but wanted to respond to the questions. 

Question 3: To ensure we can deliver this training across the country, we are developing online training modules. What are the key considerations we need to embed into the training to ensure accessibility? (For example closed captions for videos, visual aids)

If the training is face to screen training then you ideally provide an accessible transcript of the content including any videos, image descriptions and quizzes etc.

I personally think that peer support training would need some role play activities for preparing people for real conversations. It would be good to ask participants what reasonable adjustments they might need to access and complete the training too.

Question 4: If you were to undertake this program, what supports would expect to see from SANE?

 I saw one answer suggesting SANE offer a mentor program. That's such a good idea as they're not your supervisor or work team member so that the relationship with your mentor can be more frank and real, which is so important for peer work training. I also think supervision like psychologists do with each other would be helpful. So giving the trainees debriefing and constructive feedback on their progress in a framework of peer support. 

Later on if I started working as a peer support worker I'd like to have a buddy system so someone else who's new like me to share the experience and learn from each other. No pressure to meet at any frequency but as needed or desired. 

[Patchworks]

Oops I missed questions 1 and 2.

1. What are some of the things you would want to know about peer support before you took the step to apply for paid roles or formal courses?

 I'd want to know the range of employers that I could work for (eg private sector and govt), the locations of the jobs, the starting pay and other benefits I could expect, whether it offers part-time work and work from home,  the expected work hours and if they're flexible and any memberships I'd need. and then info about the training so the commitment required re duration,  hrs per week, course format, support etc.

2. If you have been out of work in past, what has supported you in your journey to seeking employment? What helped? Were there barriers?

What helped. Practical stuff like having access to a computer with the internet   having access to a scanner (for proof of identity or quantity etc), access to a printer. I remember years ago a job application asked me to fax in my resume but I didn't have a fax machine,  not likely these days.

Barriers can be the cost of job seeking like travel costs, work clothes and shoes, a haircut, as well as the cost of my time as it takes ages to write up a job application and adjust a resume. 

Other barriers are where I live versus where the jobs are. I was even told once not to put my address on my resume as it could mean I get discriminated against if it's far away from the employer or a less desirable suburb/town.

[Patchworks]

I'm still catching up on the thread and answering the questions. What a fantastic discussion!

Question 5: There are times in our mental journey where we may need to adjust our commitments, seek further support, or take a break. What are the adjustments and supports you might need during that time if you were completing a work readiness program such as peer pathways?

 For my episodic illness, when I become unwell I usually take leave (sick leave, then often unpaid leave) to allow me time and space to recover. I'd want to keep my role but get some time out.

Question 6:We foresee Peer Mentors working with participants to develop goal and wellbeing plans. What would be important to include or cover in these plans?

 I wrote a wellness plan for myself and I included the triggers that can lead to me getting sick; I had my early warning signs so people around me could see if I was becoming unwell in case I wasn't having any insight. Then I had three levels of an action plan. One plan of what actions I could do when I was having a wobbly day. Next action plan if a wobbly day turned out to be wobbly days and the third plan for crisis situations. Kind of like a traffic light green amber red.

Everyone has actions like self care for the wobbly day, and seeking extra support or time out for a wobbly week but the crisis plan included the names and contacts of formal support like GP, pdoc etc.

The goals are so important but not easy to write for me. People will need help to write SMART goals that are both relevant and important for themselves. 

Question 7: What would be the most important role of a peer mentor?

It's partly checking in how I'm going but also steering me towards development and progress.

[Patchworks]

One last quick comment now I've read everything here. It's so great that SANE is doing this program and it really will fill a gap in support for ppl wanting to become peer support workers. We get it and talking to others with lived experience of complex mental health problems is worlds apart from talking with ppl without that experience to empathise. It's taken a long time but it is very exciting to see more peer support happening around the mh services these days.

I think I may have missed the point of a couple of the questions and realised you've already got solid plans for the support structures during the training. It's so insightful reading @maddison  and their experience of being new to the role and how it can impact (or improve) our own mental health. It brings me down to earth from the ideal of the job back to the reality of possibly supporting ppl at their most distressed. A lot to think about. 

[Little_Leopard]

Hey @Daisydreamer  Thank you for your validating and supportive words. 
I have enjoyed this exercise and answering the questions 1-7 (so far) has really helped me to look inwards and ask myself questions that I wouldn’t usually think about. 

In terms of the exploitation thing, I think that these anxieties can be at least partially mitigated by having some awareness around our rights in the workplace and what the expectations are in the role.

I know for me personally like things to be clearly defined so that I know  when things are going in a way that they shouldn’t be. It’s actually quite sad because I’m naturally a very easy going and creative person but because of the repeated trauma and breaking of trust I now feel that I need these extra boundaries and lines to feel safe.

Repeated abuse doesn’t just make you doubt others. It also makes you doubt yourself and your own ability to keep yourself safe. 

But, I guess it’s these experiences and our ability to overcome is what makes a good peer worker. It’s the understanding and the lived experienced that is invaluable.

[BPDSurvivor]

@Daisydreamer 

Question 5: There are times in our mental journey where we may need to adjust our commitments, seek further support, or take a break. What are the adjustments and supports you might need during that time if you were completing a work readiness program such as peer pathways?

- set flexible but reasonable expectations eg. Set work may need to be completed by x day. IF there are specific circumstances, participants can contact their mentor etc and ask for an extension (max 1-2weeks). From the project’s point of view, they also need participants complete the program by a deadline.

- members have the option of pulling out, but they must know that they will not get the ‘qualification’

- option of after hours supports if needed

Question 6:We foresee Peer Mentors working with participants to develop goal and wellbeing plans. What would be important to include or cover in these plans?

- learning/communication preferences for both parties

- discussion of anything which may affect the Participant’s progress

- goals and dates for goal monitoring

Question 7: What would be the most important role of a peer mentor?

- collaborative relationship to benefit both parties

- ongoing connection

- sharing of experiences 

- regular structured check-ins

[Daisydreamer]

Such an important point @chibam about flexibility to adapt to things that may arise throughout the program. You are so right, there will need to be the ability to make quick change and create feedback avenues so that any issues or concerns can be raised and action taken place to address them throughout the program 🙂