What is Peer Support?
Peer support is when people share their own experiences to help one another. Our Peer Support sessions aim to:
bring together people with shared experiences to support each other
provide a safe space where you feel seen and understood
treat everyone's experiences as being equally valid and important
create an environment where you can give and receive support
Who is it for?
Our Peer Support group is for anyone who believes that they are experiencing Depersonalisation and Derealisation. If you’re not sure whether you are experiencing Depersonalisation and Derealisation, click here to see some common symptoms.
How much does it cost?
Our Peer Support sessions are run by volunteers and are free to attend. There is a high demand for these sessions and we would love to offer more sessions to more people in the future. If you would like to make a donation to help us to do this, you can do so via our website.
How do I book?
Each month, details of how to apply for the session will go out via our mailing list 2 days beforehand. Please note that there is a high demand for these sessions and places get booked up very quickly.
I haven’t been officially diagnosed with Depersonalisation and Derealisation Disorder, can I still join the group?
Yes. As long as you believe that you are experiencing Depersonalisation and Derealisation, you can join the group.
Do I have to attend every session?
No - you can just attend the ones you want to. Please note that booking for the sessions is done on a first-come-first-served basis, which means you may not be able to join every session anyway. We do sometimes run ‘restricted’ sessions reserved for certain groups of people - for example, male/female only sessions, groups for members of the LGBTQ+ community, etc. We also sometimes ask that if you attend the first session in a month you allow others to attend the second - this is to let as many people as possible who are needing support take part in a Peer Support session. Full details of who the session is open to will be included in the mailer with the ticketing list each fortnight.
Why don’t you run more sessions?
Our Peer Support Sessions are run by a small team of volunteers. These people have other commitments such as work and family. They also need to take care of their own mental health too. For this reason, we are currently only able to run two sessions a month. We are working hard to deliver more sessions to more people in the future. You may like to consider making a donation to help us do this.
What if I am triggered or I need additional support during a session?
If something triggers you during the session and you need additional support, please send a direct message to the group facilitator using the Zoom chat function. Please note: during Peer Support calls, you are able to message the Unreal team but not other attendees; and nobody else on the call will be able to see messages you send through to the team. If you do need to leave the session early, one of our team might choose to ‘check in’ with you on email once the session is finished to check that you are ok.
Can I leave the session early?
Places for these sessions are limited so we do ask that participants can commit to the full hour when they book. However if you are triggered, feel uncomfortable or have to leave for some other reason, you are free to do so. If you can, send the session facilitator a private message using the Zoom chat function before you leave.
What if my internet connection drops out?
We understand that not everybody has access to a fast, stable internet connection. Often if your connection is temperamental, your view of the call might just freeze from time to time; but if your connection drops out more significantly, Zoom can sometimes disconnect and remove you from the session. If this happens in the early part of the session whilst everybody is giving their introductions to the whole group, one of our facilitators will usually be able to re-admit you onto the call. However, once the breakout rooms are open, all of our facilitators are then busy running and managing their individual groups and aren’t able to routinely manage Zoom admin. We know that it can be difficult to secure a ticket for Unreal Peer Support and it can be frustrating if your connection means you cannot continue to participate - but there’s only so much we can do to accommodate poor connections, and we need to prioritise the smooth running of the sessions for everybody else.
I’m not in the UK, can I still join the session?
Yes. Please note that session times are UK time.
This month’s session was fully booked, can I reserve a place on the next session?
As there is a high demand for these sessions, we feel that the fairest way for us to ensure that everyone has an equal chance of attending is to offer places on a first-come-first-served basis. Unfortunately, we can't reserve places for individuals in advance. We will send out the booking link 2 days before the session is due to take place. If any given month has two ‘open’ sessions (i.e. not restricted for a certain group of people), we do ask that those who attended the first session refrain from attending the second, to allow as many people as possible to attend a call that month.
We aim to be able to deliver more sessions to more people in the future and we are working hard to make this happen.