Published on: 1st August 2023
Our peer support workers and their lived experience have been an incredibly important part of giving patients a safe space to talk, while listening without judgment.
One of our peer support workers is Wioleta Wydrych who works with our Structured Clinical Management Pathway Team based in Tameside. She spoke to us why she started the job and how peer support workers help the people needing support:
“After going through some really tough times, a lot of work on myself and some great successes with my own coaching business, I still didn’t fully feel fulfilled with what I was doing. When I saw the peer support opportunity where I could use my coaching skills as well as lived experience to help people that really need it, it felt like the perfect fit.
“It’s been an amazing feeling to see how the worst things that have happened to me can help and inspire others, give them hope and help them feel understood.
“It also helped me accept my own traumas and challenges and see them as a positive thing. I’ve learned a lot about mental health from clients and practitioners and loved the challenge of being a link between the two, helping both to see a different point of view.
“I work within the structured clinical management pathway in our community mental health team. It’s a new pathway for people with complex emotional and relational challenges. I help people work through the barriers to accessing the treatment and find a joy in other areas of their life.
“I can use my lived experience, where appropriate, to relate better to people that need help. Often people say it makes it easier to talk to someone who went through mental health challenges.
“We’re a great way to shape services to meet the needs of service users, we are a genuine example of someone who has had a similar experience and come out the other side. It really helps to see and believe that the change is possible.
“From my experience, having that breaks down the barrier and the stigma that we shouldn’t talk about mental health openly, as well as reassuring the patient their mental health experience is valuable and can be seen in a positive light.”