How To...

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Training and supporting your peer mentors

Peers within a group can often make their own ground rules about how to show respect for each other.   Mentors have a more responsible role, so they need training and ongoing support. 

Training for peer mentors

Training should be ongoing, from induction onwards, and should be refreshed at regular intervals, as new problems and situations will always arise. Training can include the following sorts of topics.
  • Boundaries, confidentiality, listening and roles – supporting others to make their own best choices
  • Group work skills – particularly for those working with groups
  • Basic counselling – to support people through problems that arise
  • Health and safety – especially useful for animators who go to people’s houses or mentors who meet up with people one-on-one.
  • Knowledge on issues the people they support might encounter – suicide prevention, sexual health, first aid, and other practical skills such as healthy cooking
  • Assessing clients’ needs and progress – using different tools for evaluation
As the mentoring is role is part of the mentor’s development toward work later, they should be encouraged to go on any internal or external courses that they feel will help their development. Any sort of skills they which to pursue can probably benefit the client group or project – for instance, cooking, video production and complementary therapies may not be standard employability support skills, but they can be used to enrich the work of the project.
 
Next Steps has their own accredited Befriending and Mentoring training, which is refreshed every three years. Aberdeen Foyer uses STRADA training. Community Renewal uses internal training.  Scottish Mentoring Network can also link you to accredited peer mentoring training.

Support for peer mentors

Support for peer mentors is critical. Not only are they working with other clients, but they are on their own journey and you want to keep them safe and properly supported. There are several key elements to good support.
  • Clear role – Make sure they are integrated into work structures – taking part in team meetings, case conferences about their client with other professionals – so everyone understands their role and takes them seriously.
  • Regular talking and listening – Formal and informal support structures are also important to ensure mentors do not take on clients’ problems and they are equipped to give the right support. Supervision sessions, team meetings, chats at the end of the day and having a phone number to call can all help.
  • Opportunities to relieve stress – Access to training like art and music, Complementary therapies, free haircuts and facials are all relaxing opportunities for mentors to unwind and feel looked after.
  • A no-blame, supportive culture – There is always the chance that mentors will have low periods or will slip themselves. They need to know that they always be supported emotionally and backed, even if they do make a mistake.
  • Where possible, keep examples of mentoring good practice – As mentors encounter different situations, it can be useful to have examples of how other mentors have successfully handled similar situations. Mentoring networks can also help with this.
  • Depending on the format of the mentoring, for instance if it is voluntary, you may want to consider putting a limit on the time that mentors can spend each week, so that they leave time to pursue other opportunties.
  • Esure the client recognises their need and feels in control, even though the mentor may be doing more of the work in the earlier stages.

  • Making time – support from staff is important, but encourage mentors to ask for support at a time of the day when staff will be standing still long enough to really listen. Catching someone on the way out the door can reduce the quality of support they can give. If the staff member is very busy, they can set aside clear times for catching up with mentors.

 

“Peer support is about building confidence, having a shoulder to cry on, about passing your experience on.  It gives you a purpose and makes you feel important as a peer supporter. Caring about other people makes you feel good.”