The community is invited to share their valuable thoughts and insights to help design a new Peer Support Program in a Community e-Forum. Everyone is encouraged to participate, especially if you have a lived experience of mental illness, are caring for someone with a mental illness or you are a peer worker in the South Western Sydney region.
Participate via this link: https://healthchat.swsphn.com.au/peer-workers-program The forum closes on 1 June 2020.
The program aims to improve the health outcomes, participation and social connectedness of people experiencing mental health conditions in South Western Sydney. It will support people experiencing low, mild to moderate and high mental health needs who are accessing mental health professionals through the SWSPHN commissioned You in Mind program delivered by One Door Mental Health and Community Links Wellbeing.
The program focuses on connecting people accessing the You in Mind program, as well as their carers and mental health professional, with a consumer peer worker. A consumer peer worker is someone who is employed based on their own personal lived experience of mental illness.
Peer workers can complement psychological therapy services by:
- Assisting with service access
- Supporting individual recovery journeys
- Liaising with family and carers
- Creating opportunities for connection
- Physical health coaching
- Increasing the recovery orientation of practices and services
- Providing individual and system focused advocacy