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One in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year and Zoe is among them. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and although it was difficult for her at first, she didn’t have to change her life completely.
“It took me a long time to develop coping strategies,” she told Centra. “It wouldn’t be going away but it could be managed with help.”
Theo comes round to visit Zoe once a week, just to talk. He doesn’t physically ‘do’ anything for her, but his help enables her to get on with her own life. By visiting Zoe in her own home to provide whole-person support, Theo provides what Centra and others in industry call ‘floating support’.
Thanks to Theo, Zoe has gone on to offer others a similar kind of technique for mental ill-health recovery, known as peer support.
Peer support
Peer support involves someone living with a mental illness or learning disability helping others. Through their own personal experiences they are better able to provide the support needed by people living with a mental illness.
It can help people to live a normal life and by boosting self-esteem and confidence, has also been shown to be useful for the person providing the support.
Reducing the financial impact of mental health issues
A considerable amount of money can also be saved through the use of peer support, as it reduces the need for treatment services and medication.
It’s been proven to work too. In its first three months alone, a peer support service in Australia saved 300 bed days, as service users were able to avoid being admitted to hospital. A similar programme in the US managed to reduce rehospitalisation by 50 per cent when compared with traditional care, according to mental health charity Together.
The services are cost-efficient, with Together citing the Leeds Survivor-Led Crisis Service as an example where, over the course of a year, peer support saved £28,000 by reducing the number of acute hospital stays.
Better and more cost-effective care
Peer support, much like floating support, gives service users the confidence and ability to return to a more independent
“Providing the support, I think, reminds her of the potential that she has,” Theo notes. “She can do it and she can excel in it as well. She’s taking the steps to make that happen, which is really positive I think.”way of life. A report by the Centre for Mental Health found that service users experience a better quality of life. Essentially, peer support can provide a better service at a lower cost to those living with mental health problems.
“There are always challenges but to have somebody to listen is just invaluable,” Zoe says.