What is Peer Support?

At a peer meet, we’ll meet you where you’re at. 

With one quick search on the internet, the definition for a peer support group that appears is “the help and support that people with lived experience of mental illness or a learning disability can give to one another.” 

But, what really are peer support groups?

Support groups are where people with similar experiences can connect and support each other. This might be in person, or online. Usually, no one in the group is more of an expert on mental health than anyone else. You help each other by sharing or listening to the rest of the group. 

What makes peer support unique?

The absence of a power dynamic.

In therapy, even though it can be transformative, there’s an inherent frame of authority. Someone is guiding, interpreting, sometimes even evaluating. That’s the nature of the equation, which can also be helpful.

However, in peer support, that equation doesn’t exist. This is perhaps its most defining feature: there’s equal vulnerability — and ironically, that very equality makes vulnerability feel safer. Everyone is there simply as a person with lived experience. You’re not being helped at — you’re being held with. When everyone is equally vulnerable, the shame starts to dissolve. You hear things that move or surprise you. You’re reminded that you’re not alone — and that’s not said to comfort you, it’s said because it’s true. 

And yes — there will be humor. There will be absurdity. There will be moments where someone walks in weeping and walks out smiling. Sometimes, what begins in tears ends in outrageous laughter — and there’s a spontaneous joy in that. In fact, people often laugh the hardest right after crying their hearts out. That’s not strange here. It’s normal. It’s necessary. 

Why does it help?

Perspective: When someone talks about what they went through, it’s not theory. It’s not motivational, it’s lived. It offers pathways you might never have considered — not because someone told you to take them, but because they walked them.

Empowerment : Even if you don’t speak, just showing up matters. When you nod while someone is talking, when you hold space in silence, you’re participating. Even quiet participation builds something inside — a sense of contribution, of worth, of solidarity. In some groups, just that nod has been described as life-affirming.

Conversation, not performance: There’s no expectation to open up if you’re not ready. When people do speak, there’s often a natural shift halfway through the session — from heaviness to lightness. A feeling of, “Okay. I can deal with this.” That’s not forced. It’s a kind of quiet alchemy that happens when people talk without reservation, and others listen without a script.

What is peer support at Agatsu? 

At Agatsu, we believe in creating non-judgemental spaces of safety, understanding and empathy for people to participate and ‘be’ as is. .

Rooted in the essence of peer support, our groups offer:

• a sense of acceptance and understanding

• equal value to everyone’s experiences

• space for both giving and receiving support

We currently host peer groups for a range of lived experiences, including: depression, caregiving, psychologists, IDD, LGBTQIA+, new moms, substance use, grief, adult survivors of child sexual abuse, deaf or hard-of-hearing, youth, adults between the age of 26 and 35 and everyday challenges through Chai Pe Charcha.

Unlike therapy, peer support is grounded in shared experience. With each group facilitated by someone with lived experience, these spaces offer a kind of support that’s distinct, authentic, and often irreplaceable.

What it means to hold space.

Many of our facilitators, like Neeta, have been through formal training in active listening, suicide helpline response, and trauma-informed care. Beyond  any certification, it’s what they’ve lived through — and how they show up — that matters.

“To hold space,” Neeta says,“isn’t just to listen, but to remain present even when someone else’s story surprises or shakes you. It’s to know when to share your own — not to interrupt, but to say, ‘You’re not alone. I’ve been there too.’”

In peer support, people organically realize that if you want to be accepted, you also accept the person who’s there. When someone speaks without being judged — especially about something that’s been repeated, suppressed, or silenced — it opens the door for deep catharsis and connection.

Some boundaries, some misconceptions.

Peer support is not therapy. Many people in our groups are also in therapy, or in spaces like NA or AA. This is different. You may not get a systematic approach leading to solutions. Instead, you get understanding, and often, a clearer sense of what your next step might be — if and when you’re ready.

The space is confidential. You can choose not to use your name. You’re never forced to speak. If a conversation becomes too theoretical or prescriptive, our facilitators gently guide it back. We also ask that people talk from their own experience, not generalizations or advice. No arguing about beliefs. No “fixing.” Just sharing and listening.

If you are interested in participating in one of our peer meets, please explore our page.