Peer Support Workers Mental Health Team.
The Adult Mental Health Peer Support Service has been developed as part of the Community Mental Health Transformation Programme to increase alternative mental health support for people who live in Gateshead. We provide non-clinical interventions to support with accessing health and community resources
We offer a free and confidential NHS service for people aged 16 and over who are registered with a GP in Gateshead who are not currently receiving support from the Community Treatment Team or accessing Crisis Services.
Our team consists of Community Mental Health Development Workers and Mental Health Peer Support Workers who work in the five areas in Gateshead, known as Primary Care Networks, linked to GP Practices.
Peer support workers are people who have lived experience of mental illness or experience of caring for someone else who is experiencing such difficulties and getting help with it. They draw directly on this and extra training to help others who are struggling with their mental health.
Peer Support
Focuses on people’s strengths and hopes. It helps people build skills to recover and look after their wellbeing.
Through their lived experience they empower others to help people build the tools they need to feel connected, valued and fulfilled.
Peer Support Workers helping people with ‘dual diagnosis'.
‘Dual diagnosis’ means having a mental health problem alongside alcohol or substance misuse. Our Dual Diagnosis Peer Support Workers use their lived experience of addiction and mental ill-health to help others with these problems to recover. These workers understand first-hand that getting the right help at the right time is harder for people with dual diagnosis. They use their own experience of treatment to help people access support to improve their mental health, substance misuse or both.
Perinatal Peer Support Workers helping people with “Perinatal” mental health.
Perinatal’ is the period when you become pregnant and two years after giving birth. Our Perinatal Peer Support Workers use their lived experience of mental ill-health during their own perinatal period to help others experiencing similar problems.
Our service has been primarily funded under the 1001-day programme, in the aim to support fathers, co-parents as well as mothers throughout Gateshead within the perinatal period. We are able to offer nonclinical interventions to support with accessing health and community resources. We also provide support in via 1-2-1 appointments and group work. Our primary aim is to aid: -
• mild to moderate perinatal mental health difficulties
• perinatal mental health support for fathers and co-parents
• primarily universal parent–infant relationship support
- Help you to find resources in your community.
- Provide peer support to navigate the health system and support individuals to access these services.
- Support with meeting the specific needs of clients in each locality.
- Add to existing mental health provision.
- Offer support groups, focusing on emotional support, sharing experiences, education and practical activities.
- Overcome mental health stigma.
- Joint working with organisations to support a smooth transition between services.
Our team works across the 5 Primary care networks in Gateshead. Primary Care Networks (PCNs) are groups of general practices in the UK that work together, along with other healthcare providers and community services, to deliver more coordinated and comprehensive healthcare at a local level, with a focus on proactive, personalised care.