Peers To Meet You by Kasia Fallan, Brampton Manor Academy

Each patient using the service is paired with a ‘peer buddy’ who attends regular sessions with them and talks over their worries, problems and plans for the future.

Pete, who lives in Newham and has been a service user since 2008, was enrolled on the training course to become a peer buddy in August 2015. After suffering from depression/anxiety for 17 years, he wanted to see a new approach to treatment.

“I had mixed experiences with my treatment – sometimes it was excellent, but sometimes annoying. Communication with the behind the scenes admin team was really the biggest trouble. They did, however, save my life.”

He has tried counselling as well as various medications, but has still had trouble. Medication is not always the answer, as Pete soon found, after experiencing side affects, such as weight gain, weight loss, fatigue, insomnia and other withdrawal symptoms and the effects of mixing and switching drugs.

“I was referred by my employment advisor. It was a appealing job to me as it was stuff I’d done in other jobs and would provide me with some constructive way to spend my time, as well as offering a little pay. I felt it would give me an identity”

He’d been through 8 jobs since 1999, with periods of unemployment in more recent years.

“I find it more effective for them than other treatments I’ve received in the past as they can relate to what I’ve been through. It’s less medical and more human. It’s also an effective way of using NHS funding because it delivers results as well as other, more expensive treatments and is cheaper than paying psychiatrists.

“It also helps us, the peer supporters as we get something out of it too. It’ a two way process – I get as much as I deliver, which is crucial for my, and my peer buddy’s, recovery.

“It’s a lot more personal and more laid back: we sometimes share medication, sometimes lifestyles, sometimes the feeling of alienation. It fits in with the new drive on mental health recently, as it’s been in the headlines a lot and has brought a lot of focus to the area of development.”