Collective Healing and Protection (Part 2)

In Part 1, I spoke about how there is a part of growth and healing, recovery from harm, that is individual and personal, and there is a part that is communal.

True believers of peer support can be powerful people. However, you should take what I say here and compare it to what you know, your observations, your experience, and your study. It is important to make your clarifications, ask your questions, because sometimes we defer too readily to unwise experts, when we are the experts. What I love most about peer support is that it is provided by so-called non-experts or amateurs. People on the factory floor. Simple coworkers.

To build and maintain trust with coworkers, I think it is a good idea to honor their suspicions, even stigma, around mental health issues. It makes sense that a person might be reluctant to talk openly about their distress. At the same time, peer support can provide them with the ease of talking to someone without them writing anything down, without an appointment or record of the meeting.

KEY POINTS

■ As with a trusted friend, peer support offers confidential support.

■ The group can heal and protect.

■ Peer support training can advance our understanding, develop our skills, and encourage us to take action.