Facing Depression Together

The Revd Stephen Normanton is a Methodist minister and founder of the mental health support charity PeerTalk. PeerTalk meets at 18 locations around the UK, often in Methodist churches. To mark ten years since the charity was formally established, the Revd Stephen shares this blog.

"I have no doubt whatsoever that PeerTalk is a work of the kingdom of God – people’s lives have been transformed through being part of the groups.

"After 25 years as a superintendent minister I was quite apprehensive about, as one person described, ‘getting out of the boat’."

"Get yourself a good team together" were some of the first words of advice to me from Methodist mental health specialist Malcolm Rae OBE. This was in 2014 –I had done a search for ‘Methodist’ and ‘mental health’ and Malcolm’s name came up as the Beckly Lecture he delivered at a previous Methodist Conference was titled ‘Valuing Mental Health’.

I arranged to meet with Malcolm to ask his view on whether he thought starting a project that provided community-based support for people living with depression, such as that modelled by the Irish charity Aware, would be worthwhile. This year, PeerTalk celebrates ten years as a registered charity and now hosts 18 volunteer-facilitated peer support groups for people living with depression, anxiety and similar mental health conditions. Worthwhile is an understatement.

PeerTalk groups are attended by people facing all sorts of struggles but mainly those being overwhelmed with issues that impact on day-to-day living. Those who attend are there to support each other by sharing coping skills and encouragement, but most often they say just being with others who understand “what it is like” is therapeutic. The safe, non-judgemental space the meetings provide allows attendees to share their deepest thoughts and anxieties, which often remain unheard or misunderstood elsewhere.

Sheffield Hallam University has twice undertaken service evaluation studies that have highlighted the positive benefits of attending PeerTalk meetings. Each week our volunteer group facilitators hear for themselves how much attendees value the meetings. At a recent meeting, an attendee said that she had not been hospitalised for her mental health since joining PeerTalk three years ago. Prior to attending PeerTalk meetings, she had spent some time in hospital every year for well over two decades.

PeerTalk meetings take place every week, all year round, and after ten years we have hosted thousands of meetings. Each meeting is facilitated by two trained volunteers, who generally commit to facilitating three sessions in a 12-week period. Across all our groups, we currently have around 200 active volunteers, and we have trained many others along the way.

Our volunteers find a great sense of fulfilment in undertaking their role. One of our volunteers writes, "Getting to know the peers over the months and seeing them support each other in such caring and positive ways is so rewarding. Peers come with anxieties, depression and issues of their own, but never fail to offer understanding and compassion to each other, it is wonderful to witness. I really feel it is a privilege to help through facilitating PeerTalk meetings.”

I have no doubt whatsoever that PeerTalk is a work of the kingdom of God – people’s lives have been transformed through being part of the groups. After 25 years as a superintendent minister I was quite apprehensive about, as one person described, “getting out of the boat” – finding our own place to live and the insecurity of wondering if the charity would have funds to employ me. But this is my ministry and at present this is my calling, and throughout the many years of uncertainty of being ‘out of the boat’ I can testify to the many blessings that I and the charity have received along the way.

By the grace of God, what we started in response to our vision of ten years ago has flourished into the wonderful work that the charity does today.

In celebrating the past ten years, it is important to recognise the huge contribution of the team that has made this happen. “Get yourself a good team together” was the best advice and PeerTalk has been founded and built upon by exceptional people. Many of those people are Methodists, quite a few are from other denominations, some are from other faith communities, and some are from none. But all, in acts of love, service and being a good neighbour, have made PeerTalk the exceptional charity it is today.

Our vision for the next ten years remains the same as it has always been: to establish a nationally recognised and trusted brand of community-based support for people living with depression, anxiety and similar mental health distress. To achieve this, we need the financial support of many more people. I hope you can share our vision and be part of the team that will make it happen.

Read about and share in our vision here

Thank you for your prayerful support.

The Revd Stephen G Normanton