Catherine MacAllister (she/her)

When sharing my own story, I always say to others that peer support is what saved my life. I’ve continue to strive to give back what I was given; which was to feel heard and to be connected. Fundamental to peer support is connecting through shared experience, promoting the belief that recovery is possible. This is powerful, because you’re speaking to someone who’s doing it, and who understands.

My background…

I have been working as a peer practitioner for over 5 years. My peer support journey started when I became a volunteer for a community-based mental health organisation in 2015. After some time I eventually became employed as a peer support worker and utilised my lived experience to support others. Initially I supported people through one-to-one meetings and through running peer-led groups. Over time, I began co-facilitating mental health courses in a Recovery College: a place offering a safe space to anyone to develop and/or strengthen skills that support us through life. My co-development skills developed through this role: learning how to listen and work with the community to develop course ideas based on their needs and in turn, developing them into course offerings within the College. In 2019, I began practicing peer support in a hospital setting as part of a harm-reduction and addiction recovery team, and then moved onto supporting people living with eating disorders in an outpatient, day patient, and inpatient care setting.

How I can help…

I generally find that people are looking less for advice-giving and resourcing/signposting, and more about feeling that their voice and experiences matter. That they feel supported no matter where they are on their journey. Through my peer support role, I support communities and organisations to uncover and explore what is wanted and needed, and what can be done together to move forward. I also support with the development of training materials on how to build peer relationships from a peer perspective.

The future of mental health…

A greater understanding of the effects of trauma and putting this at the heart of how we work with people who experience mental health challenges. Prevention is better than cure, and I would like to see us working with people earlier on, before their mental health is negatively impacted.