Last summer, The Royal launched a peer support program for clients in the Integrated Forensic Program in Ottawa and Brockville, followed by a program for families.
Peer support is a supportive relationship between people who have lived experience in common. There are different types of peer support, ranging from casual support between individuals, to programs more deeply embedded into health care settings.
Peer support specialists at The Royal bring a unique set of skills to the table. Specialized training and their own lived experience allows them to make deeper connections with clients and families.
“I have clients who say they don't have this kind of relationship with other people,” says Abbey Van Der Kloet, a peer support specialist at The Royal’s Brockville Mental Health Centre. “I think everyone (on the care team) has to work together and be really collaborative, and by doing so we can offer a much wider range of benefits to our peers and to our clients.”
This past year, there were 175 formal peer support sessions for clients and families in the Forensic Program. In addition, the program expanded to offer peer support to clients awaiting assessment in the forensic units.
Another exciting addition to the program is group peer support, both for individuals in the Forensic Program, and a separate online group for their family members. Once a week, group members come together to meet with a peer supporter. Much like one-on-one peer support, the groups are voluntary and confidential, but there is a difference. In a group setting, there is the added benefit of camaraderie and a sharing of different perspectives.
“It’s a powerful space,” says Van Der Kloet. “It’s a space for everyone – the facilitator and peers – to come together as equals to be open and honest about what wellness looks like to them, what illness looks like to them, what stage along their journey they're at, and sharing mutual experiences and mutual understanding of what we're going through and where we've been.”
Next steps for peer support at The Royal
Kevin Patrick, a former client and now supervisor of the peer support program in Forensics and The Client and Family Hub, says hope is the greatest and most important aspect of peer support. As such, he would like to see the program expand to more departments across the organization and connect with more community partners.
Kevin Patrick, a former client and now supervisor of the peer support program in Forensics and The Client and Family Hub.
This past year, organizations such as Pleo (formerly known as Parents’ Lifelines of Eastern Ontario) and Psychiatric Survivors of Ottawa have been instrumental in the quest to connect more clients and families with peer support services. The recent opening of The Client and Family Resource Hub has also been a “gamechanger” for the peer support program as volunteers spread the word about peer support services and their benefits.
Hope for the future
For some who struggle with mental health or substance use challenges, seeing other people with lived experience recover and eventually move into careers in peer support can have a positive effect on their recovery journey.
“I think it inspires them – they see there's a next step – something else past the stage of recovery they're currently in,” says Van Der Kloet.
Patrick estimates that 15 per cent of people who participate in structured peer support ask him how they can become a peer support worker.
“I love it when I hear people say they want to get into peer support,” says Patrick, who was first introduced to peer support when he was hospitalized with a mental health condition. “It happens all the time. They want to support people. They want to give hope to the people, want to help with their recovery. They want to be authentic with them. They want to share what is true – not what the world wants to hear – but the truth around stigma and recovery.”
Van Der Kloet is grateful she was able to turn her experience into something that brings hope and healing to others.
“It’s really exciting that The Royal has embraced client-centered care and is bringing peoples’ own experiences to the forefront. I feel extremely lucky to be able to use my own lived experience for the benefit of other people and to be able to use my background as an avenue for change within The Royal.”