What is Peer Support?

Please note that this service is funded and resourced for people who are aged 18 years and over living in Australia and who are impacted by mild to moderate depression.  Those who we identify during the application process or while in the service as outside our eligibility criteria, will be referred to more appropriate services.

For international support, please visit our International Links page for information. 
For youth support, please visit our Youth Links page for information. 

What is Peer Support?
Peer support is a process where people with similar life experiences share their understanding to support each other.  Peer support is about both receiving and providing support to other people within the group.  That having a commonality, such as depression, increases the individual’s ability to be empathetic and understanding to others in the group.  Peer support encourages people to talk about their experiences and strategies.

Peer support groups can create an environment that is both supportive and challenging for the participants.  Such environments can provide participants with a reminder that they are not alone, and, in the case of Peer Support at depressioNet, that they are not the only ones who experience depression.  Peers come from a range of backgrounds, careers, genders, nationalities, age groups and experiences.    It is the experience and information, not expert advice, shared by the group that makes everyone an equal, and every person is entitled to receive and provide support.