Self-Help Services is a user-led organisation. Many of our staff and volunteers have personal experience of mental health issues, or have an interest in the area of mental health. It is the shared wish of both our staff and volunteers to improve access to – and quality of – local mental health services, which makes our charity so unique.
Volunteers are extremely valued members of our team. Many of our services could not run without their support. To this end we aim to ensure that all volunteers are both happy and supported in their roles.
Last year over 70 individuals volunteered to support our charity; many of whom went on to paid employment in a mental health setting or undertook further studies focusing on mental health.
New Volunteer Vacancies:
Volunteer Facilitators
We have four vacancies for Volunteer Facilitators for an exciting new project to deliver post therapeutic support services for people who have accessed mental health services.
Self Help Services (SHS) is a charity that provides community-based mental health services such as drop-in, wellbeing, supportive self help groups for individuals with anxiety, social phobia and depression and 6-week CBT-underpinned structured courses for anxiety, depression and self-esteem issues. The organisation also manages and delivers one-to-one Psychological Therapies including low intensity IAPT provision and counselling, computerised cognitive behavioural therapy packages and complementary therapies.
SHS are setting up a Post-Therapeutic Service to follow up and provide additional support services to people who have been discharged after accessing our services. This will be led by volunteers who will be responsible for delivering a series of Relapse Prevention Workshops to help build resilience, maintain levels of wellbeing and help to prevent relapse and for monitoring an online forum and virtual ‘drop in’ group for service users. This service will enhance ongoing self-management for people with a mental health issue, enabling them to work on their continuing well being.
Self Help Services values applications from older people and people with personal experience of mental health issues. A robust training package from Self Help Services, Big Life and other external providers is available for all volunteers. We are looking for volunteers who can commit to 4 – 5 hours a week for this project.
Closing date for applications is 1st March 2012.
Role Description – Person Specification
Veterans – Volunteer FacilitatorsVolunteers are required to assist with veterans courses and other self help initiatives at various locations across Greater Manchester. Training will be provided and a small provision for expenses is available. Please complete the below application form and equal opportunities monitoring form, forwarding when complete to joanne.walby@selfhelpservices.org.uk. Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form Self Help Group FacilitatorsVolunteers required to run self help groups for anxiety and depression at various locations across Greater Manchester. Groups run on a drop-in basis where no referral or application is necessary, providing people living with depression, anxiety and social anxiety a safe place to give and receive support from their peers. Facilitators are responsible for setting up the room and refreshments, ensuring ground rules are adhered to, undertaking governance (particularly in regards to risk), promoting the group and most importantly, ensuring that the sessions run smoothly. Facilitators are required to attend bi-monthly team meetings. Self Help Services values applications from people with personal experience of mental health issues. A robust training package from Self Help Services, Big Life and other external providers is available for all volunteers. For more information about current vacancies for this role, please email volunteering@selfhelpservices.org.uk with the volunteer role(s) you are interested in. Person Spec Drop-In Group facilitators Role description Drop-in group facilitators Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form
Course FacilitatorsSelf Help Services deliver a number of structured self help courses, ranging from building emotional resilience for individual’s struggling to cope with life’s ups and downs to courses aimed at older people and veterans. For details of the current courses we’re running click here. We require volunteers to facilitate courses to empower and support group members through this structured self-help package. Volunteer Facilitator’s are responsible for booking meeting rooms, promoting the group wherever possible, facilitating the courses and attending Self Help Services team meetings. Self Help Services values applications from people with personal experience of mental health issues, mature adults and those with experience of working with older people. A robust training package from Self Help Services, Big Life and other external providers is available for all volunteers. For details of our current volunteer vacancies please email volunteering@selfhelpservices.org.uk with the volunteer role(s) you are interested in. Person Spec Structured Group facilitators Role Description Structured Group Facilitator Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form cCBT Support Workers Volunteers required to act as support workers for Computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (cCBT) services in Manchester, Salford, Oldham, Trafford and Stockport. We currently have a need in the Halton and St Helens area. For detials of any vacancies in other areas, please email volunteering@selfhelpservices.org.uk. For more information about current vacancies for this role, please email volunteering@selfhelpservices.org.uk with the volunteer role(s) you are interested in. CCBT Support Workers Role Description Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form If you are interested in, or would like more information about any of the above positions, please email on volunteering@selfhelpservices.org.uk |
Below are some experience of our current volunteers.
Elaine – Group Facilitator
”Since volunteering for SHS I have been surprised at just how rewarding an experience it has been for me. As you know many volunteers have ‘suffered’ from various mental health issues themselves, so have first hand experiences of what people go through. It is this that has been one of the biggest surprises for me; being around other who ‘get’ me because of what they have been through themselves.
In my ordinary every day life I don’t talk about what I have gone through over the years, mainly because I haven’t really found an understanding ear. But with volunteering; yes I am facilitating the recovery of others, but the team of volunteers have always made me feel as if I naturally fit in, and this is no mean feat.
For anyone else considering volunteering I would say that you’ll get out a lot more then you expect, and it’s always better then that.”
Michael – Group Facilitator and past cCBT Volunteer
”I started with SHS as a cCBT volunteer in 2008, and eventually joined the depression group at the Zion Centre as a Facilitator. It was useful to be part of a popular and busy cCBT service, but the facilitator role was a new and exciting challenge for me.
The willingness to deal with mental health issues compassionately and constructively, which is the attitude of not just our workers at SHS but also our clients, makes me feel like we are really making a difference in peoples lives. Nothing beats getting feedback from clients about how unique and valuable the work we do is for them”
