University life can be stressful. In fact, it is stressful, and you don’t have to delve too deeply to figure out why. Many students are living on their own for the first time, the step-up in reading and research is jarring, you’ve probably got far fewer contact hours than before, and I personally still can’t get over how ‘grown-up’ everything feels. And it’s huge. Seriously, the place is massive and it’s a lot to take in.
You’re likely feeling some sort of pressure right now, however slight. You may be worried about things piling up and getting out of control. You may be worried about not fitting in. You may just have had a run of bad days. That’s where Peer Support can help.
Thinking about how to describe it, it occurs to me that Peer Support is something you’ve probably already been doing and using. After all, at its heart, they’re students helping other students cope with their time at university, which every friend group does in some form or other. There are a few things that make Peer Support that bit different, however. What I find notable is the training the Supporters receive – 18 hours from the King’s Counselling Team. They know how to handle difficult and personal issues, and in addition to that they are reviewed regularly to consolidate this training and ensure they’re working well. Essentially, if you’re talking to a Supporter, you’re in good hands.
Also important are the people themselves. The Peer Supporters are other students like yourself, from a wide range of backgrounds and studying all sorts of degrees, but they aren’t the people you see every day. Too often friendships can struggle under the weight of both personal issues and frustration about not knowing how to help, and clearly this only makes the situation worse. Peer Support offers a service that allows students to still look to other students for guidance, but with the promise of experienced support, respectful sensitivity, anonymity if you’d prefer and of course confidentiality. With the best will in the world, that’s more than your friends alone could be expected to provide.
I suppose you could see Peer Support as a stepping stone between talking through problems with your friends and seeking out professional support. Indeed, the Peer Supporters can also direct you to professional services if you decide between you that it’s a good move. Yet most crucial of all, perhaps, is how the existence of the service alone is helping to normalise these sorts of discussions. I feel that a lot of students – myself included – are hesitant to open up about these sorts of issues, for fear of being judged or seeming ‘whiny’ or whatever else. It’s exactly that sort of hurdle that Peer Support is there to overcome to help make university that bit easier to deal with. Of course, you don’t have to wait until your problems start affecting your work or social life – if you just need a chat with somebody friendly who’s willing to listen, they do that too. It’s a valuable service, whatever state you’re in.
If you’re interested to look into the services for yourself, or if you’re even thinking of joining the service as a Supporter, they’re on Instagram and you can email them at peersupport@kcl.ac.uk. Check them out, they’re well worth your time.