MHICS Peer Support Service
We offer one-to-one peer support to people with significant and/or long-term mental illness.
Support is provided by our trusted Lived Experience Practitioners (LExPs), who use their own experiences of mental distress and professional training to help you achieve your personal recovery goals.
Sessions can either be face to face in the community, or through online peer support groups.
About MHICS
The peer support service is part of our Mental Health Integrated Community (MHICS) Service.
MHICS offers support to people with significant mental illness, within the community.
If you have been referred to MHICS, you'll be offered our One-to-one Peer Support. If you are unsure whether you have been referred, ask your GP or healthcare professional.
Your assigned NHS Lived Experience Practitioner (LExPs) will work with you to create a recovery plan and help you decide what you want your future to look like.
They’ll also identify any obstacles that may be preventing you achieving these goals. For example, negative self-beliefs or anxiety around others.
We can also take input from other professionals, friends, and family members where you’d like it.
Types of support we may offer
One-to-one Peer Support
Direct support with one of our NHS Lived Experience Practitioners, if you’re referred to us through MHICS. This is available face to face or online.
Our service is currently only available to people registered with a GP in East Berkshire.
Peer Support is available to anyone over the age of 18, who has long-term and/or significant mental health challenges.
It can be especially effective in people who have tried other forms of mental health support with little or no improvement.
Your GP can refer you to the MHICS Service where you will have access to the MHICS Peer Support Service alongside other therapeutic options.
You do not need to have accessed mental health services before to be referred, as this could be the first step on your path to better mental health.
Our Neurodiversity Passport can help you communicate your needs to our staff. It covers sensory processing, your communication preferences, and topics that might make you feel anxious and overwhelmed, so that we can support you.