Intermountain is now offering a “Peer Support” workshop that teaches caregivers how to connect with a peer in a way that’s emotionally supportive and less about problem solving. Peer Support is an important mental well-being tool because helping caregivers feel seen and heard validates their experience, decreases isolation, and promotes feelings of belonging.
“Problem solving mode is an important tool when treating patients but is less helpful when we need to make a human connection with a coworker who is suffering,” says Emily Stirling, caregiver social well-being manager. “The workshop teaches simple evidence-based methods like the basics of empathic listening, and how to connect fellow caregivers to resources to meet their needs.”
Lori Stromness, an advanced practice provider (APP) in Urology and active Peer Supporter, shared a recent experience about providing peer support to a colleague. Lori followed the four basic steps of peer support: Identify, connect, empathize and reflect, and commit to follow-up:
- Identify: A friend/former coworker of Lori’s posted on social media about crying at work. The friend was vocal about her distress but didn’t feel things were getting better.
- Connect: “I reached out to her and said ‘I noticed your post. I hear you. Life stresses outside of work can make processing things at work harder because you feel exhausted. I started seeing an Intermountain Employee Assistance Program (EAP) therapist myself because I’ve been pushing myself too hard,’” says Lori. “There’s real value in simple responses when someone is struggling with something. You can acknowledge the difficulty by saying, ‘That sounds really hard.’”
- Listen and be Present: Lori’s friend replied, sharing that maybe it was time for her to see EAP, but had been thinking that with time she’d be fine. After all, “so many people have lost so much more than I have,” her friend wrote.
- Empathize and Reflect: “I wrote back a response validating her feelings of being stressed and overwhelmed, and said that other people’s difficult experiences don’t minimize what she is and has gone through,” says Lori. “I then attached the EAP number at the end of my response. Her response was ‘You’ve made it feel completely OK to be human again. Thank you so much, friend. I’m going to call. I just wanted to be better than this.’”
- Commit to Follow Up: “I replied, validated her, and included that she’s welcome to update me on how things are going, and I plan to follow up with her to check in,” says Lori.
If you’re interested in becoming a peer supporter like Lori and hundreds of other caregivers throughout Intermountain, you can sign up in Workday to attend a workshop. You can access the Peer Support pocket card and tip sheet now to start implementing peer support strategies into your work. If you have any questions about Peer Support, email PeerSupport@imail.org.