What is Lived Experience Peer Work?

Lived experience peer work is a profession that developed out of the survivor-led protests against the harmful treatments utilised in psychiatric hospitals in the 1970s. Although peer work was not a term that existed at the time, the survivors of these traumatic experiences were able to provide support and facilitate healing through their shared understanding and lived experiences, which we now call peer support. As might be inferred by the name, lived and living experience is at the heart of lived experience peer work, a profession that, in its current iteration, uses the understanding shared by people who have had similar experiences to create a space for healing and recovery based in authenticity, mutuality, respect, hope, empathy, and self-determination.  

What is lived and/or living experience?

Broadly speaking, every person has lived and living experience of many things – you might have the lived experience of having been a child once, or the living experience of having to go grocery shopping every week. However, in the peer work and mental health space, lived and living experience are terms used to describe people who are currently experiencing, or have previously experienced, mental health challenges, adversity as a result of systemic discrimination, and the complexities of living authentically as themselves in a society that does not always make that easy. Not all lived and living experiences are ‘negative’ or purely challenging either - for example, within the LGBTQIASB+ community, sharing lived and living experiences of gender and sexuality can facilitate hope, connection, and joy.

How do lived experience peer workers use their experiences?

Although everyone has lived and living experience, lived experience peer workers are often openly identified as having lived and/or living experience in certain areas, and use those experiences as a foundation upon which to provide support to people going through similar things. For some people, it is enough to know that the person they are working with understands their situation from a personal, lived experience perspective. Having that baseline of shared knowledge and understanding can create a space where self-expression, sharing, venting, and problem-solving feel easier and safer to access. However, it is not just through visibility and openness that lived experience peer workers are able to provide support. Part of a peer worker’s role can also include sharing parts of their own lived and living experience to validate, contextualise, or even help you to find hope when a situation feels particularly insurmountable. Having a similar experience to draw from may help your peer worker to better collaborate with you to brainstorm strategies and solutions from a position of shared understanding, or to normalise the feelings you might be having about something you are going through.

What kinds of lived or living experiences might a peer worker have?

It depends! Lived experience peer workers can have an incredibly broad range of lived and living experiences, from a past or current history of mental health challenges including things like trauma, suicide, grief, or distress, to lived and living experiences related to aspects of their personality identity, such as culture, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Some peer workers will be identified as 'consumer peer workers', which means that they have lived experience related to being a consumer or participant of mental health services or have experienced mental health challenges, while other peer workers may be identified as 'carer peer workers', which means they have lived experience of supporting someone who has experienced mental health challenges. Some peer workers will have lived or living experiences related to both of these things, and some may not use these descriptors at all (but they are the two you are most likely to see in the peer work space!).

Can I work with a lived-experience peer worker even if they don’t have the same experience/s as me?

That is entirely up to you! While peer workers do draw on their own lived and living experiences to provide support, even two people who have been through similar situations can have very different perceptions and experiences of that situation. When working with people who have experiences outside of their own, peer workers are still able to draw on their lived and living experiences of distress and coping to support you – they just might not have specific examples or stories from their own life that they can share.  

Can I work with a peer worker if I don't want to hear the details about their experiences?

Of course you can! Part of an initial session with a peer worker is about exploring the type of support that will feel most helpful for you. Sometimes it is enough just to know that the person working with you shares similar lived or living experiences to you. Other times, you might find having a lived or living experience example of a situation is helpful – in these cases, your peer worker will check in with you first to make sure it’s alright for them to share their lived or living experience.  

How is lived experience peer work different from counselling or psychology?

Because of its historical roots in consumer movements protesting the institutionalisation of people experiencing mental health challenges and/or disability, as well as significant difference in their professional qualifications, lived experience peer workers do not provide clinical assessment, diagnosis, or treatment of mental health challenges. Rather than working and diagnosing within clinical frameworks, lived experience peer work offers you a space to explore your experiences and what they mean to you, and will support you to identify your strengths and how you might like to use those as part of your wellbeing journey.  

Can I work with a peer worker if I'm already receiving support from a psychologist or counsellor?

Definitely! Maybe you have experiences of a clinical diagnosis that you're unpacking with a psychologist, and you'd like some additional support for something else that's come up in your day-to-day life. Maybe you'd like some extra support while you work on something particularly tough in therapy, or maybe you want someone to vent to between therapy sessions.  Maybe you've just received an ADHD or Autism diagnosis, and you want some support figuring out what's next. Maybe you're navigating a WPATH assessment, or looking for some extra support as you navigate the gender-affirming healthcare space, and would like to speak to someone who's been through similar things as you work with a psychologist on the assessment component of that process. All of these are ways that a peer worker can support you while you work with a counsellor or psychologist!

Lived Experience Peer Work at Q Psychology:

At Q Psychology, we are proud to provide LGBTQIASB+ affirming and neuroaffirming lived experience peer support sessions on a sliding pay scale. Lived experience peer work sessions are currently available at our Geelong clinic, as well as via telehealth where appropriate.

If you would like to explore whether lived experience peer work at Q Psychology may be an appropriate support for you, please get in contact with our team.