Are You Thinking of Peer Work? Have your questions answered here!

[tyme]

I can see peer support is IN you. @MJG017 You seem to just have the knack. I can't even describe it any other way.

For me, the peer work courses pretty much consolidated and confirmed all that I was already doing. 

I've known people who have moved off the DSP after finding their passion for peer work. I'm not saying that you have to do this as I don't know your personal needs, but I'm just sharing that it IS an avenue for some people 🙂

I found the benefits of peer work are reciprocated. The more I reach out to others, the more I benefit from it. I think this is why I find peer work so beneficial.

[MJG017]

@tymeI emailed the person at LEWP that was recommended to me by my PASS counselor.  So hopefully I have better luck getting a reply this time.

Today though, i got an email from Lifeline.  I had enquired about the training to be a crisis line volunteer.  That was a while ago.  They've just announce the 2025 intakes so I've put myself forward for the March one.  Part of me now is saying "What the heck was I thinking?!".  Typing so words here is one thing but letting me loose on a phone with someone in distress is terrifying.  I know its quite a bit of intense training before that happens but... I feel like I've just jumped in the deep end.

[tyme]

Hey @MJG017 ,

Take your time. Go slow. Do what your heart leads you. 

Your responses to members here on the forums continues to show a deep understanding and a natural knack for peer work. 

As I said, I'll continue to keep an eye out for opportunities for Cert 4 in Peer Work.

The Lifeline training may be very helpful for you in general. @creative_writer , was it you who has done some work with Lifeline? My apologies if I'm mistaken.

[MJG017]

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@tyme wrote:

The Lifeline training may be very helpful for you in general. @creative_writer , was it you who has done some work with Lifeline? My apologies if I'm mistaken.

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@tyme  It was @Explorer7 who told me that they had volunteered there and did the training and recommended it to me to think about.

I have come to the conclusion, that I do need to slow down a bit.  It's starting to get a bit too much, too quickly.  But it's been a very month so hopefully that settles things down a bit now. 

The lifeline training doesn't start until March so that's 6 months away so plenty of time to panic about that later 😁  Now that it's actually happening i'm starting to have doubts again.... as usual, but I guess that's why they have all the training. 

They do pick 1st and 2nd Thursday nights of the month for the trainings dates though which is annoying as that's my mens group and support group nights.  Even the info session in January is a 2nd Thursday of the month!   Annoying to miss those meetings but I'll be doing it with a good reason.

Other than that, still waiting to hear back from LEWP 😐  I think that the cert IV and the lifeline training are my main 2 priorities for now.  The support group is well established now so not a lot of work to maintain that and do what I need to do there.

[tyme]

Yes, definitely. Please pace yourself @MJG017 It is easy to put everything into it, and the last thing we want is burnout.

Let's see how the next 6 months go and as you said, there's time to think whether you want to continue with the training or not. Who knows? Something else may pop up in between?

[MJG017]

No worries @tyme, ill definitely pace myself.  I do know this is what I want to do, I think Ive probably just pushed myself a little hard.  Partly to act as a distraction and partly out of the fear of not know what my health might look like in 6 months... a year... 2 years...  but i do know, probably for the first time in my life, that this is what I want to do and it feels important to me.

I've always gotten a bit too excited over new things and tend to jump right in and want to bury myself in it.  I do need to just take it a little more easily these days.  I'm beginning to think this forum and the people here, like yourself, are a good influence on me! 😊

[HelloKitty1981]

Would love to do more peer work but getting in to complete the certificate has been my biggest issue with TAFE as I am not employed in the industry. 

4 modules to go till Cert 4 in Community Services is finally completed. Unfortunately with the TAFE I am attending we dont get any work placement which I think is wrong given its a Cert 4 and full time course!

I just need to redo my CPR refresher to keep all my  NSW qualifications up to date and will look at doing disability support work again at night and weekends so I can bring in some money while studying next year to give my hubby a break being the sole bread winner. 

I enjoyed doing the SANE program and being on the forums, something I wish to get back into next year again.

[RubyJones]

Hi there, what course did you do? Was it online? And how long did it take to become qualified?  Thanks Ruby.😊

[Shaz51]

@HelloKitty1981 , @MermaidHair , @tyme , @Jynx , @rav3n 

@RubyJones message above 😊

[rav3n]

thanks for the tag @Shaz51 😊

@RubyJones the way i got into peer work is quite different - i started from studying a psychology major (3 years) and then I was super fortunate to have had the opportunity to work in an online peer support role (different to SANE). i didn't really know what peer work was, and the company i applied for didn't care whether you had qualifications/experiences in peer work, only that you had lived experience and was capable of using it to support others while adhering to a guideline. there were other people in my role who also didn't study or obtain a qualification in peer work - they came from various backgrounds such as construction work, teacher, lawyer, student, accountant, makeup artist, etc., but we were all given peer work training (which was done in under a month) in the role. so i can't really share much about the peer work qualification aspect but please do read through this thread to see the courses other members have completed!!