FAQs

We are there for you anytime where a friendly ear might help or if you don’t know where to turn. We recommend you reach out at the earliest opportunity as difficulties are best addressed before the problem becomes more serious. Talking about the situation in the early stages can really be beneficial. You do not have to be in psychological distress to get in touch, as they say a problem shared is a problem halved.

Conversations could be about (but not limited to):

• Relationship/family difficulties
• Marriage/ divorce
• Mental Wellbeing
• Negative life events/ stress
• Change of lifestyle
• Fatigue
• Work stress
• Bereavement
• Menopause
• Sim performance anxiety
• Concern for others wellbeing
• Financial Worries
• Physical health worries
• Intrusive/suicidal thought patterns

Our Peer support volunteers are trained in listening skills and can signpost to further help if needed. They do not try to ‘fix ‘the issue and are not Mental health professionals but can help organise your thoughts and help you plan a path forward. PSV’s have all completed comprehensive training in supporting colleagues who work in a similar role or industry to yourself. They understand the challenges that working in your sector can present and are fully supported by a team of independent mental health professionals for further support if needed.

If the situation is negatively affecting your sense of mental wellbeing or getting you down then Talk to a Peer can help.  We offer a confidential and impartial service and therefore are not able to feedback to the company about the situation or get involved with employee disputes. What we can do is signpost you to potential further support, helping to find ways for you to positively manage the effects of stress and organise you thoughts.

If you know that someone is struggling to reach out for help you can absolutely refer them to Peer support, but we would ask that this is done with their prior consent. Ask them ‘Would you accept a call from peer support?’  If they agree, you can then fill in a ‘request for support’ form for them, or with them. If they have concerns, you could give them a Talk to a peer contact card and ask them to think about it, reiterating the confidential and impartial aspect of the service.

If you believe that their situation is detrimental to operational safety then, as with any safety risk, you should talk to your immediate manager. You can also put in a ‘request for support form’  to ask for help and guidance when approaching a colleague who may benefit from the Talk to a Peer.

Talk to a Peer is not an emergency service, if you are in immediate psychological or suicidal crisis you should contact your local emergency service number for your country. The most largely used worldwide number is 112.

If you do not feel fit to be at work and are due to be on shift within 12 hours then you must contact your immediate manager or scheduling department and declare yourself unfit for work.

The earliest timeframe for which we can be guaranteed support via a ‘request for support form’ is 24 hours, however in some cases it may be sooner (if you select the 12 hr option we will endeavour to get to you within that time but we cannot guarantee it).

All forms come direct to Talk to a peer and do not go via your organisation. De-identified details will be shared with your allocated Peer Support Volunteer, they will not be shared with anyone else without your prior knowledge.

After submission you will receive a  text message from your allocated Peer Support Volunteer to arrange a call. This message will not mention mental health or Talk to a Peer, it will be a generic message asking for a convenient time to talk. You can then liase with the Peer Support Volunteer to find a suitable time for a call.

If at any point during the process you change your mind about receiving a peer support call then you can step away from the programme and request no further contact, if you request this will not contact you again.

We believe that a ‘human’ element to selecting a suitable Peer support Volunteer is essential for effective support.

Peer Support Volunteers (PSV’s) are allocated by a Peer Coordinator, not using automated systems, to ensure the best ‘fit’ for the situation and role of the individual seeking support.  Our trained Peer supporters have often experienced difficult life events or have training in certain fields .

Within the time you have requested on the support request form a Peer Support Volunteer (PSV) will contact you via a simple text message (not mentioning the reason for contact) and will arrange a convenient time to call you. The request from allows you to outline times when it is unsuitable for them to contact you.

Unlike many other support services, the person who provides support from Talk to a Peer  will not be employed at the same organisation as you. It is therefore a rare occurrence that you will have met each other. In the unlikely event that you recognise the peer allocated to you, you can simply request a reallocation. All conversations will remain in confidence regardless.

Although the default method is to allocate a PSV from outside your company, if you would like to talk to a specific PSV, or one within your organisation, you can add this detail in the ‘other information’ box at the end of the request form.

As a very rough guide, we suggest that if a specific subject has not resolved itself after 3 conversations then it might be a good idea to see whether further professional support could help. Professional Mental health support is not provided by the Talk to a Peer service, but we can direct to further support if needed and explore the options you may have. Some organisations have Employee Assistance Programmes or private healthcare that can provide counselling and psychological services which your Peer Support Volunteer can assist you in finding, this can often remain confidential.

If you have Peer support Volunteers in your company and find yourself wanting to speak to them then that can be helpful, but these conversations should ideally be had in a non safety critical environment It is always important to keep professional boundaries in place and therefore a Peer Support Volunteer should not be asked meet up with you, in person, outside of working hours. If further support is needed you could arrange to receive a call from the trusted PSV, when it is more convenient and safe to talk, or fill in a request form to accept a text from another Peer Support Volunteer.

Wherever possible we will seek to fulfil any requests of this nature and have a wide scope of volunteers, from all walks of life with a great deal of lived experience around mental health struggles.

This is incredibly unlikely however should you not receive the text or if you have anything you would like to report or suggest to us about the Talk to a Peer service you can contact us at info@talktoapeer.com

To attend the training course and become a Peer Support Volunteer for your workplace and other supported organisations within the greater peer support programme, please contact your organisation or email us at info@talktoapeer.com. Training is by way of a 3 day course with regular supervision and development sessions to keep your skills fresh and ensure you are supported in your role.

We really appreciate any feedback about our service and would like to like to hear from you to leave a testimonial about your experience with peer support. This could allow others to reach out and will help to break down the stigma surrounding mental health, and may enable a colleague to reach put when they are struggling.  Similarly, if you have any suggestions on how we can improve the service please get in touch via the contact us link at the bottom of each website page.

For information about Talk to a Peer or to join one of our unique industry specific programme, please get in touch via the ‘contact us’ link at the bottom of each website page or the ‘contact us’ link on each industry page.