Organisation Name: Sheffield User Survivor Trainers (SUST) Contact name: Patrick Wood Job title: Member email: p.wood@vas.org.uk Telephone contact: 0114 253 6626 SUST blog: http://yourvoicesheffield.org/etc1
About SUST
SUST is a network of mental health trainers with personal experience of mental distress and using mental health services delivering mental health training in Sheffield and South Yorkshire. The group acts as a source of mutual support for trainers; delivers mental health training; supports mental health service users to become trainers; and develops written training materials. SUST members also participate in user involvement activities organised by other agencies. The group was formed in November 2007 and has 32 members.
Training
From 2008 to 2009, SUST provided 16 mental health training courses, which were attended by 210 learners (including 44 mental health service users) from 85 different organisations. 89% of people who attended these courses rated them ‘good' or ‘excellent' overall. SUST also organised a Spring Symposium for service users in March 2010 and is currently delivering its third annual Summer School, consisting of a further 6 training courses.
Benefits of training to learners
The training has been of benefit to service users in terms of personal development. For example:
"My name is Clare and I am a resident at the Young Women's Housing Project (YWHP). I want to go into support work in the future but wasn't sure where to start, I then saw an ad for the SUST training in the YWHP Newsletter. I thought this is a perfect place to start and spoke to my Key Worker about booking me on all 6 courses. She booked me on the training sessions and also arranged a nursery place for my son, which SUST funded.
Going along to the first session I was both scared and excited. Once inside the room I started talking to other people and relaxed. There was a nice mix of professionals and service users.Going along to all the training has made me more determined to do support work. I already have life experience and I just need the support to do the work.
Through the YWHP and SUST, I feel that I now have that support. It was nice that service users were doing the training because it gave you an insight into the kind of issues I want to work with. You can actually see the emotions and this makes it all the more real, which in turn gives me more understanding and hopefully more empathy.
As a result of going along to all the SUST training sessions I want to get more involved in delivering training with the YWHP Service User Trainers and with SUST. SUST was really inspirational. I feel that with some support I could deliver training around things that I want to say. When you have been in care, people will see you a certain way, they think you have been on drugs or something. I want to say ‘Hey up, we're not all messed up - give us a chance'. I want to let people know that you can get through really difficult stuff by having some support."
Many learners stress the value of service user perspectives in SUST courses:
"I found the course challenging, moving and useful. The training encouraged me to reflect on my responses to self-harm and offending behaviour and gave me a valuable insight into the potentially negative contact between service users and statutory agencies and how this might be avoided. I particularly valued the contribution of the service user trainers, which really helped to bring the issues alive."
"I feel that knowledge gained from people with first-hand experience is the best way of learning."
Benefits of training to trainers
Trainers report that providing training with SUST has a positive impact on self- confidence, self-esteem, and can be useful in making sense of their experience of mental distress and using services:
"What did I learn from this experience? Firstly, I discovered that I could deliver effective mental health related training. One of the most touching aspects of the training was verbal feedback during one of the coffee breaks by a fellow service user. She explained that my description of my overriding guilt complex had really struck a chord with her own experience of depression. To me this suggested I was communicating a possible symptom of depression well, which I believe is essential to training that has a large element of biographical content. I would certainly be willing to deliver training again, either individually or as part of a team...
The bottom line of my whole experience is that the whole process boosted my self- esteem and confidence, which is a positive outcome in itself! It also acted on a social and networking level, and allowed me to articulate to those outside my direct mental health sphere how crippling depression can be - it is much more than just self-pity or feeling ‘sorry for oneself'. It was a good start with many areas to work on to make the next session that little bit more polished and relevant."
Support for trainers
Trainers are encouraged to debrief after delivering training for SUST. Peer support is available at SUST meetings. Some trainers deliver training in pairs.
Payment
Trainers are offered a fee. If trainers are in receipt of benefits, we maximise the payment they can receive in accordance with any restrictions. In some cases, trainers set up individual ‘learning accounts', which enable them to attend training courses offered by other organisations. Some trainers elect to have their fee paid to other organisations they are involved with.
Training for SUST members
SUST members regularly attend courses in training skills, administration, ICT, communication skills and finance.
Involvement with other agencies
SUST provides opportunities for members to become involved in events organised by other agencies, particularly teaching and user involvement related activities.
SUST members have provided training for mental health nursing and occupational therapy students at Sheffield Hallam University, clinical psychology students at the University of Sheffield, members of Sheffield MDF, and psychiatrists at Sheffield Health & Social Care NHS Foundation Trust. A number of SUST trainers have provided courses as part of the VAS Mental Health Training Programme.
SUST members are involved in the Sheffield Hallam University Service User / Carer Monitoring Group and the group working to develop the Trust's Strategic Framework for Service User Involvement.
Funding
SUST received a Sheffield City Council (SCC) Small Grant in June 2008 (to cover the costs of meetings and training room hire) and a SCC Social Inclusion Grant in May 2009 (to purchase training equipment and to provide a training budget for SUST members). SUST also generates income through training fees.
Are you considering any future developments in response to the ‘Personalisation' agenda?
SUST has been commissioned by the Yorkshire and Humber Joint Improvement Partnership to consult with mental health service users about their experiences of using personal budgets.
We are also exploring the possibility of becoming a social enterprise as a prelude to developing a wider range of personalised support services to mental health service users
Key terms - peer support, training, personal budgets