A successful peer support relationship will leave the client feeling more empowered and hopeful about the future. The heart of supportive relationships encompasses:
- Good communication
- Warmth, closeness, connectedness and caring
- Willingness to learn
- Support and guidance
- Respect and responsiveness
Reflection Activity: Valued Supportive Relationship
Think for a minute about someone you were able to confide in and explore personal issues with. Think about what you valued about that relationship and how you were treated. Note: This activity is for reflection only and does not need to be submitted along with your workbook.
- What was it about the person that made you choose them?
- What specific aspects of their personality or behavior did you find helpful?
- What did they say or do which may have helped you to relax and encourage you to confide in them?
Did you have any of these answers? WHAT others?
Question 1: What was it about the person that made you choose them?
They were:
- Open
- Honest
- Friendly
- Sincere
- Kind
- Warm
- Patient
- Approachable
- Interested
- A good listener
Question 2: What specific aspects of their personality or behavior did you find helpful?
- Open to me and my views
- Understood where I was coming from
- Listened to what I had to say
- Gave me their undivided attention
- Interested in me and what I had to say
- Treated me seriously
- Respected me
- I knew I could trust him or her (confidential manner)
Question 3: What did they say or do which may have helped you to relax and encourage you to confide in them?
- Reassured me that it is not unusual to find some decisions difficult
- Asked me questions that helped me clarify the issues
- Listened to me in a focused manner
- Didn’t tell me what to do
- Didn’t interrupt me
- Gave me lots of reassurance
- Let me make my own decisions
Please note any useful attributes and behaviors that were helpful to you as you learn and practice new skills in this module.