Peer Support Groups
Below is a list of Peer Support groups that help with a range of different mental health conditions.
Peer Support Groups
General MH support
New Normal
- The New Normal runs group sessions that aim to help those who are grieving and those who are experiencing mental health difficulties.
- They have different groups for different cohorts - e.g. 'Student Grief', 'Queer Good Grief'- LGBTQ+ group, and 'Black & Brown Good Grief'- POC group.
Mental Health Mates
- Run local walking groups across the UK for those who are struggling with mental illness.
- If you feel up to it, you could even contact them to start your own one in your area!
Mental Health Mates walking page
ReThink Mental Illness
- This charity recommends the website /app listed below.
- It is a way to connect with others online (usually young adults/students) who are also experiencing mental illness.
- Can share your own thoughts and other useful tips and information on the website.
- Easily accessible and can be less daunting than entering a Zoom call!
Student Minds
- Student Minds have hundreds of different Peer Support Groups across their UK universities.
- There is a link below with all the Universities that have Peer Support Groups with Student Minds.
- Although they are not running as normal (face to face) at the moment many groups are still doing sessions online.
Mind
- 'Mind' is a longstanding Mental Health charity that works to support those struggling with Mental Health across the UK.
- They have a list of resources in their peer support directory' for groups in different areas of the UK.
- A very useful tool to start off if you are unsure where to look.
Nightline
- Nightline is a service that is run by University students for students.
- The volunteers are there to answer calls, texts and emails about anything you may be worried about.
- They are there to offer advice or even just to listen.
- Click the link below to see if there is a Nightline service at your University.
Andy's Man Club
Andy's Man Club are a men’s suicide prevention charity, offering free-to-attend peer-to-peer support groups across the United Kingdom and online.
- Free to attend with free brew and biscuits!
Condition Specific Support
Voice Collective
Voice Collective support young people who hear, see, or sense things that others don’t.
They have online peer support groups, and a Discord forum for 13-25s. You can join the student support group even if you are on a leave of absence from uni.
OCD action
- This is a charity that works to help those suffering from OCD.
- There are different peer support groups for the different subtypes of OCD.
Beat
- 'Beat' is a charity that works to assist those effected by eating disorders. They have a number of different peer support chat rooms e.g. for men, for over 25s, for young people, for those with bulimia etc. You don't have to have a formal diagnosis of an eating disorder to use any of their groups.
Bipolar UK
- Bipolar UK offers practical information, advice and support by phone and email.
- They can talk through any issues and also share their own experiences with you and how they cope with things.
- Below is a link to how you can book a call or email and other resources on their website.
OCD UK
- OCD UK is a charity that is run by and for people with lived OCD and try to support them and give them resources to cope.
- They have been running Zoom support groups weekly since the pandemic.
- Below is a link to the list of meetings and how to register to attend one.
Battle Scars
- This is a charity based in Leeds which aims to help those who have self-harmed in the past or who are still self-harming.
- They run peer support groups on Zoom every 4 weeks.
- Below is a link to the different support groups they are running over the next two weeks.
Battle Scars Peer Support schedule
First Steps ED
- This is a charity that aims to support all those affected by eating disorders or difficulties, including parents and carers
- They offer an all-ages support group with different topics every week and you can sign up via their website/digital hub.
Twitter hashtags
A few years Mind created a list of Mental Health hashtags, which help to bring together conversations around particular topics and share experiences. Please be aware that some of the posts may be triggering.
Since this list was written, there are many more: #HowIFightDepression, #OCDTalkHour (every Wednesday 7pm UK time).
Please drop us a line if you can recommend any.