Mistakes I have made: and things they taught me while working as a peer
| Date | 14 November 2016 |
| Pages | 212-216 |
| Published date | 14 November 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-08-2016-0023 |
| Author | Tessa Rodgers |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Social inclusion |
Mistakes I have made: and things they
taught me while working as a peer
Tessa Rodgers
Tessa Rodgers is based at
Nottinghamshire Healthcare
NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and progression of offering peer
support using personal reflections on mistakes. The paper draws on the core principles of peer support
which have the potential to be better understood through self-reflection and honest appraisal.
Design/methodology/approach –A reflective and personal approach is used throughout to examine and
analyse particular mistakes relating to developing peer support relationships.
Findings –Reflections are offered about how working approaches can be developed as a positive
consequence of difficult personal interactions.
Originality/value –These reflections contributeto the small number of paperswritten by peer workers within
the UK. Itsfocus on mistakes and challengesas a means of learning more aboutpeer support is highly unique.
Keywords Challenges, Peer support, Mental health, Mistakes
Paper type Viewpoint
Of course I make mistakes. I’m human. If I didn’t make mistakes, I’d never learn. You can only go
forward by making mistakes (Alexander McQueen).
I began this by combing through the online thesaurus and found an evocative jumble of words
that all convey in different ways the word “mistake”. Some of them have an almost comic tone,
blooper, muddle, bloomer. Others appear have a mathematical or scientific context and there
are some which sound harsh error, fault, blunder.
I have got loads of things wrong throughout my working life in the many and varied jobs I have
had. Errors, blunders and muddles, I have caused them and hopefully learnt from them. They
have ranged from losing things both actual and virtual (oh that sinking feeling when you realise
you have forgotten to save the changes in a Word document you have been working on for ages)
through to getting the wrong day and venue for a meeting (well I got the time right so one out of
three is not a total cringe inducing collapse). I have forgotten people’s names, job titles, got
muddled up with dates and times more often than I am able to recall. I have not understood
things and have felt too self-conscious to ask for an explanation.
I can recall sitting in meetings that sounded like a rappers’convention as acronyms were
bandied about in rapid succession. I then further confused myself by trying to fathom out what
those jumble of letters could possibly stand for. There are still a few hotchpotches of letters that
the Trust uses that I do not really understand and am now far too embarrassed to ask!
I have diligently entered crucial dates and appointments in my diary only to mislay the actual
diary. This is caused by my love of handbags and my quest for the mythical “perfect work bag”.
I have a variety of bags but none of them are the “one”. In my collection, some are too big, some
too small; others too heavy and none of them are “just right”. So as I changed bags I used to
PAGE212
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MENTALHEALTH AND SOCIAL INCLUSION
j
VOL. 20 NO. 4 2016, pp. 212-216, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2042-8308 DOI 10.1108/MHSI-08-2016-0023
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