Claire Alexander runs the WAF South London online Parents Peer Support group. She shares her experience of Peer Support Facilitator Training.
There are quite a few administrative and logistical elements to being a peer support volunteer and of course, it is also essential to be informed about safeguarding and the code of ethics.
With all these organisational requirements to grasp, it would be easy to overlook what the meetups are essentially about – support – and how this support complements but differs from friendships, family, and advice services.
The sense of being seen and understood as an adoptive parent is precious. Anne’s peer support training made me think about the value of properly listening and being listened to.
Anne gave me the confidence to believe in the value of a “listen first” approach and the tools to establish it in a group, and to have the confidence to create space for people to connect at a more fundamental level.
The training and the follow-up supervision sessions are an opportunity for us, as peer support volunteers, to also benefit from time to connect, reflect, be listened to, and get ideas for making our groups even more effective.
The skills I gained in the training were useful in re-establishing and facilitating our peer support group but also very helpful generally in life. I would recommend it to anybody considering volunteering in a peer support role.
