The difficulty of running a mental health peer support group.

Perth's mental health sector has, over the last two years or so, seen an erosion of many therapy-based mental health peer support groups. The most significant change was seeing the WA chapter of Grow defunded by the WA Mental Health Commission. This evidence-based mental health support group has been running nationally for over 50 years. Still, the Mental Health Commission chose to fund other initiatives that weren't traditional peer support groups. Recently, a few other smaller initiatives have had to wind down as they were unsustainable financially and in terms of the amount of effort it takes volunteers to run these groups.

This article shares my experiences running a support group and outlines why groups like this need more community support.

About me and Activate Mental Health.

My name is Rahul Seth. I am a Chartered Accountant by qualification, but I transitioned into working in the mental health sector by starting my initiative, Activate Mental Health (www.meetup.com/activatemh ), in June 2016. This initiative delivers peer support in an alternative style to traditional peer support groups, where dedicated volunteers run social activities such as walks, board game evenings, and book clubs. We are on the path to getting Activate Mental Health registered as a charity.

While all the challenges listed below apply to Activate, the cause is much easier to run than a traditional support group. This is due to its uplifting nature, brand, and ability to source sponsorships from organisations that see the obvious benefits we deliver.

I will focus more on a traditional peer support group for this article.

The sheer cost of running a support group

$2,400.

This baseline annual amount is required to run a fortnightly peer support group.

The most significant cost is venue hire. Support groups need to be run in private spaces that are comfortable for members to use. If you look at a baseline hire rate of $30 an hour for 1.5 hours each fortnight, you're looking at $1,170 in annual fees for room hire (I have rounded this up to $1,200). This, on its own, is enough to deter a willing person from starting a group in the first place. Most of these spaces require public liability insurance to be able to regularly use the room, so you are looking at an additional cost of $700 to run the group.

To promote a support group, it's advisable to subscribe to Meetup ($250 annually) and use graphic design software such as Canva ($250 annually).?

Finding $2,400 to run a group is incredibly hard, particularly when you're starting and need more credibility regarding your service. Peer support groups are often run by people who aren't well off financially. Fellow members of the group are in the same position and can't afford to contribute membership fees to cover costs. Government funding is also minimal in this realm and is usually only granted to organisations registered as not-for-profit entities. Keep me from getting into the can of worms about what's involved in running a charity!

Support from the corporate sector is challenging, as many organisations look to support initiatives that enhance their brands. Corporate organisations that choose to support causes involved within the mental health realm often choose high-profile awareness initiatives that promote the fact that it's okay to ask for help with mental health issues. They should provide that support to organisations offering accessible, long-term help.

The skills required to run a support group effectively

Running a fortnightly support requires the same skill set as running a small business.?

Facilitating groups is an art form in itself. It takes a lot of skill to make all members feel welcomed, acknowledged, and able to contribute to the group's discussions. A facilitator may develop active listening and paraphrasing skills to moderate all groups. However, each facilitated group event is similar to playing a different sports team; you must read the game's play.?

What needs to be more often acknowledged by people unfamiliar with running support groups is the behind-the-scenes effort it takes to administer the group. Without going into deep detail, here's a small list of skills required:

• Fundraising to cover the group's costs.
• Marketing the group to new members and stakeholders.
• Networking with stakeholders in the industry.
• The human resource skills that are required to manage volunteers assisting the cause.
• Evaluating the group's effectiveness to justify the need for ongoing support of the group.

Only a few people planning to run a support group either have or can develop these required skill sets, whether they do this alone or with a team.

Finding and maintaining consistent member engagement.

For anyone familiar with event management, finding people saying they are willing to attend your event is one challenge, but getting them to show up is another issue.?

This challenge is even more difficult for peer support groups. Finding an audience interested in engaging with your group is the initial hurdle. Support groups don't have a marketing budget. Using the Meetup.com platform is a good idea as it has a massive base of users trying to find groups to meet in person. Meetup, though, requires a subscription fee for the organiser.

Once you are known, the challenges members face to engage the group include:

• Having meetings held at accessible times to their needs.
• The distance and cost required to travel to and from the group.
• If there is a need for support workers to be available to support the member in attending the event.
• Any other incidental costs, such as babysitting expenses.

Some barriers to attending the event on the day include:

• Remembering that they RSVP'd to the event in the first place.
• Sickness and health issues.
• The need to manage other priorities such as children.
• The loss of will to attend the event.
• The anxiety of meeting people.
• Other unforeseen circumstances.

Attending a support group is not often a positive experience for everyone. Members usually share their heavy struggles, frequently hearing stories that can be pretty depressing. Sometimes, a member struggling immensely with their issues takes up much of the time to discuss their problems, robbing other members to share their dilemmas.?

In that scenario, the facilitator needs practical skills to deflect the conversation to other group members. Feelings of negativity through one experience may deter ongoing engagement. All these challenges make regular member engagement an ongoing challenge, making it harder to find financial support to sustain the group.

That being said, the benefits of peer support groups include the following:

• Having a safe space to vent thoughts and feelings.
• An ability to meet peers who understand what you are going through. Meeting like-minded peers can lead to less social isolation and friendships.
• Sharing of lived experience knowledge.
• Cheap, if not free, therapy.

Why these groups are needed now more than ever

I have a strong passion for promoting peer support initiatives. When I entered the sector in 2016, I often heard the term "peer support" being discussed. However, outside of peer support provided through the NDIS, more must be done to help grassroots peer support initiatives.

For me, peer support goes back to our tribal ways. In the Stone Age, humans needed to band together in groups to support each other for survival. I argue that this still applies in the present world, but thanks to our advances in transportation and technology, the entire human race is one global tribe. Peers helping peers brings human connection and reduces the social isolation that people struggling with mental health issues face.?

The cost of accessing mental health help in the community is immense. For some people, the $80-$100 gap fee to access one of ten Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions can often come down to deciding to get one hour of help or pay essential bills or groceries. This doesn't discount the fact that they may need more than ten funded sessions to maintain their mental well-being. In a climate where cost-of-living pressures are being experienced, mental health support might be impossible for people to afford.?

Also, most mental health support is provided during business hours, which may not be accessible. People are usually at their most vulnerable state during weeknights and weekends. If they are struggling at these times, they can only present for face-to-face help at hospitals if no other services are available. This puts immense strain on an already overloaded system.

Conclusion

While running a peer support group is extremely difficult, it is relatively cheap, accessible to the community at vulnerable times, and provides long-term, ongoing help to those in need. More government and corporate support must be provided to support people willing to lead groups to benefit the community.

If this article has resonated with you, please email me at [email protected] for support and advice. I'm happy to help.