Peer Support Worker

An exciting opportunity has arisen in the Therapy Services Department at Arnold Lodge for people to join our established Peer Support work service.

These roles enable lived experience and the peer perspective to be an integrated part of our work across the hospital.

**We are seeking to recruit individuals who have either**:
- Started or completed the Peer Support Worker Training or
- Completed the Introduction to Peer Support course and are willing to undertake the Peer Support Worker Training.

We are able to consider part time hours if this is preferred.

You will be involved in supporting patients in their recovery journey. Peer workers use their experiences to offer empathy and understanding to others, inspiring hope and belief that recovery is possible.

The Therapy Services department consists of an established and dedicated team of Occupational Therapists, Support Workers, Education Tutors and Sports, Fitness and Well-being staff. We work together to provide a comprehensive range of interventions to meet the therapeutic needs of the patient group. These include skills-based groups, creative, practical and vocational activities. You will work closely with the Therapy Services team

We have a strong Recovery focus and value diversity. The role of the peer support worker has been developed specifically for people who have lived experience of mental distress You will act as a recovery champion within the team and an ambassador of recovery for the Trust and its partner organisations.

You will receive a comprehensive induction training programme which may involve working on other days. Clinical and managerial supervision will be provided for the post holder from the Occupational Therapy staff, but you will also link into a broader Peer worker network and have ongoing support from the Peer Development Team. We will be keen to support your development within the role.

**Main duties of the role**:
Offer non clinical strength based support to patients on designated pathways within Arnold Lodge

To work with individuals to identify recovery goals

To role model personal responsibility, self awareness and self advocacy.

To appropriately use lived experience to inform your work

To increase patient knowledge and skills around self management

To contribute to the Recovery College programme

To support involvement activity at Arnold Lodge

We have a huge variety of opportunities in our expansive Trust covering geographically from South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire to Leicester, providing mental health inpatient and community services, community health services, forensic mental health services and secure prison healthcare across the East Midlands.

We have more than 100 sites and a huge scope of unique opportunities to develop your career and gain some amazing experiences. We strive to be a great place to work and offer many staff benefits and tailored staff support and wellbeing programmes.

Do you want to make a difference?

Do you believe in Trust, Honesty, Respect, Compassion and Teamwork?

Then Nottinghamshire Healthcare is the perfect place for you to start, maintain or further your career. Join our team of nearly 9000 who are making a difference every day. We are all about our people - our staff, volunteers, carers, service users and patients. We are NottsHC.

To establish supportive relationships with people using mental health services and their loved ones, based on the core principles of peer support (mutual, reciprocal, strengths focused, safe, progressive, non-directive,
recovery focused and inclusive)

To share personal experiences of recovery and coping to build connection and inform support; for example, within the Making Sense of Voices group.

To use active listening skills to help people develop self-understanding and identify their personal recovery goals.

To support others in achieving goals that they have identified for themselves within their Therapy treatment plans.

To raise awareness of recovery language among Trust staff by modelling positive, strengths based, non-discriminatory, non-jargon, non-medicalised language in all areas of work

To maintain strengths focused clinical records