About PeerTalk
Find out more about us
PeerTalk is a national independent charitable foundation that provides weekly volunteer facilitated peer support groups for people living with depression, anxiety and other emotional distress.
Since 2017 PeerTalk has established eighteen support groups and has trained 520 volunteer facilitators of which 150 are currently active. Volunteers offer a minimum commitment of eighteen months, typically to facilitate the support groups three times per quarter, and to attend regular volunteer facilitators meetings. The support groups are modelled on those provided in Ireland by the charity Aware who have hosted a national network of forty such groups over the past forty years. PeerTalk aims to establish one hundred such groups throughout the UK.
Our groups and the process
PeerTalk offers a forum for sharing and listening, providing encouragement and, more importantly, hope to attendees. This informs what we measure our effectiveness against and how we do it. As a result of practical suggestions on coping with depression offered by other participants, individual attendees report improvements in several areas, including well-being, (in particular, self-esteem), and the ability to manage depression on a day to day basis. PeerTalk’s monitoring and evaluation (M&E) processes are specifically designed to reflect and capture this. Impact measurement includes collecting data on: the ability to manage difficult situations on a day to day basis (resilience); overall improvement in mental health (well-being); the ability to maintain relationships, avoid isolation, and participate in wider community activities (friends and family); and the ability to man-age work situations and remain engaged in the workplace (employment).
Our groups meet in Gateshead, North Shields, South Shields, Whitley Bay (Tyne & Wear); Skipton (North Yorkshire); Bradford, Batley, Huddersfield, Leeds Beckett University, (West Yorkshire); Alton, Preston x 2, Warrington (North West); Farnham, Guildford (Surrey) and Bordon (East Hampshire).
Future groups: Funding to start two new groups in East London (Redbridge and Barking and Dagenham) during 2026 is secured.
All these groups are in response to a local request and all the groups are supported by locally recruited volunteers, many of whom have lived experience of their own of depression or have family and friends affected by it.
PeerTalk’s aims include raising awareness about depression and challenging the stigma often associated with it. PeerTalk offers presentations to community groups that provide information around depression, encourage good practice in communicating with and supporting people who live with poor mental health and how to signpost people to mental health services if necessary. PeerTalk also aims to be able to signpost family members and friends to supportive advice and counsel.
PeerTalk support groups are modelled on the successful work of Aware and a video of such a meeting can be seen here.
If you are interested in attending a PeerTalk support group or offering as a PeerTalk volunteer facilitator or want to know how you can support PeerTalk then please contact us.
Find out more
The PeerTalk Charitable Foundation Trustees
Alistair Newton (Chair)
Alistair Newton has been a Methodist Minister since 1985, serving in the North West and Yorkshire. Prior to ministry, Alistair had retail and office experience in a cost accounts setting. His hobbies include photography, walking and trying to play golf. Alistair brings his experience in collaborative working to the role of Chair of Trustees.
Andrew Varley
Andrew is a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants with a background of working in manufacturing and construction. Recently retired Andrew offers a wealth of financial experience.
Dr Susan Wishart
Susan is a registered social worker. Now retired Susan worked at a national level for the Prison Service in Safeguarding and working with sex offenders.
Joanne Malcolm
Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist working in the Neuro-developmental Autism assessment Team within a Community NHS Trust. Extensive experience and knowledge in Autism diagnostics.
Peter Sheasby
Peter is a retired Superintendent Methodist Minister having served throughout Northern England. Peter brings much experience of working as part of a team on committees and project management. When relaxing Peter can be found volunteering on heritage railways.
Roger Butterfield
Roger is a solicitor with 40 years experience working for local authorities and several years experience providing advice and training to local authorities.
Dr Mike Doyle
Mike is an Honorary Professor, University of Manchester, School of Health Sciences, Division of Psychology and Mental Health. Also he is an Associate Director of R&D (Honorary), South West Yorkshire Partnerships NHS Trust.
What does a PeerTalk support group offer that other mental health services do not?
This report summarises a dissertation produced by one of Sheffield Hallam University’s MSc student mental health nurses. Their project was a service evaluation to determine the benefits of a national charity’s support for individuals experiencing depression. In particular, they sought to understand what the charity offered that differed from mainstream mental health services. Read the report (PDF) or read a summary.