We recognise the importance of primary care support, especially during periods of high workload, seasonal challenges, and the need for overall wellbeing. Our services are available to all staff within primary care.
Primary Care Support
What is Peer support?
Peer psychological support is a form of mental health assistance where individuals within a shared community or profession provide emotional and psychological support to each other. Unlike traditional therapy led by trained professionals, peer support is typically offered by people who have similar experiences or backgrounds, such as colleagues, who understand the unique challenges faced by their peers.
In a healthcare setting, for example, peer psychological support allows staff members to share their experiences, listen to each other, and offer empathy, encouragement, and coping strategies. This type of support is valuable because it fosters a sense of community, reduces feelings of isolation, and can help individuals manage stress, anxiety, and other mental health challenges in a more relatable and accessible way. Peer support can be informal, such as through conversations and check-ins, or structured, through organized peer support programs and groups.
Purpose of Peer Support
• Build resilience by safeguarding the psychological wellbeing of colleagues
• Help prevent, detect and assist into support for any occupational, operational or home related stress,
including post-traumatic stress (PTSD)
• Help to champion and break the stigma surrounding poor mental health – Its Okay, not to be Okay
• Promote early intervention and appropriate peer support
• Give our colleagues and leaders the training and support required to react in times of difficulty
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REACTmh
REACTmh training aims to help individuals to have psychologically savvy and supportive conversations with colleagues about their mental health. Individuals in distress may not always recognise that they are struggling, or if they do know they may not want, or be able, to seek help.
Being able to speak with a supportive and trusted peer or line manager in times of difficulty is especially useful for team members who are dealing with repeated exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) or working in stressful environments.
- REACTmh is suitable and available for everyone across UHDB and Joined Up Care Derbyshire
- REACTmh ‘train the trainer’ is available specifically for leaders and wellbeing champions, to be able to deliver this training across their service area and grow a local network of trainers
- REACTmh is a practical, short, skills based course to enable colleagues to have an effective wellbeing conversation and check-in with their colleagues
StRaW
StRaW (Sustaining Resilience at Work) is an evidence based peer support programme that enables trained StRaW practitioners to detect and help prevent mental health that may be experienced by colleagues at work. We have a network of StRaW practitioners and managers across JUCD trained to undertake ‘StRaW assessments’ with colleagues who have appropriate knowledge around mental health conditions to deliver a structured support conversation to help strengthen resilience.
- Colleagues can self-refer to see a StRaW practitioner, may be signposted by a colleague or wellbeing champion, or can be referred by their leader or line manager.
- Practitioners can support the detection of workplace stress, spotting the signs of psychological distress that might otherwise go unnoticed, and support the mental health of colleagues suffering from psychological distress, through planning, guidance, signposting and, where appropriate, effective mentoring.
- Colleagues do not need to be experiencing mental ill-health to access StRaW support, but may have noticed the signs and symptoms of stress in themselves or others and therefore opt to access the service.
TRiM
TRiM (Trauma Risk Management) is a trauma-focused peer support system. This model of support is delivered by our team of TRiM practitioners and managers and aims to ensure colleagues receive the necessary response, education, and support after experiencing or being exposed to potentially traumatic events. This network is trained to identify psychological risk factors in our colleagues that might otherwise go unnoticed and they will ensure appropriate steps are taken to support colleagues.
- TRiM empowers and promotes a proactive and resilient stance to the effects of potentially traumatic events
- Our team of practitioners are trained to identify where additional support might be required after potentially traumatising events
- The team is equipped to be able to signpost and assist colleagues in accessing professional and appropriate sources of help
- Practitioners are trained in the basics of trauma psychology, and know how to plan for traumatic events both before and immediately afterwards, working with services to conduct practical psychological risk assessments
Reflective Practice
Reflective Practice sessions aim to provide a safe, honest and enlightening environment where colleagues can talk about morally and practically challenging topics they may have faced. These sessions are delivered by peers and provides an opportunity for teams that have been undertaking challenging work to reflect on what they and their colleagues have been doing and the psychological and emotional impact on them individually, and the team as a whole.
- Sessions are 45 minutes in duration and aim to help attendees create a ‘meaningful narrative’ about their experiences which in turn helps them process what they have been through
- These sessions are not focused on apportioning blame, but a safe, confidential space to reflect
- Colleagues attending a Reflective Practice session are encouraged to be prepared to be open and frank about their experiences and supportive towards others as they speak too
- This can be delivered as part of a wider wellbeing event or team support/training day