Daisydreamer
Senior Contributor

How to - Peer Support Events and Discussions

Welcome to the SANE Forums! 

 

If you are new here, or wanting to connect with others, you are in the right place. Here at SANE, we have a range of different events and discussions where you can connect and share with peers.  

 

Live Events

 

Topic Tuesday:

Topic Tuesday a live, facilitated Q&A style discussion with a special guest who is a subject matter expert. This text-based event is an opportunity for forum members to ask questions to a subject expert, share experiences and connect with others who are interested in a similar topic.  

 

As the name suggests, it is held on a Tuesday between 7:00-8:30pm (AEST/AEDT) right here in the SANE Forums. You can find our Topic Tuesday discussions on the Lived Experience Forum and Friends, Family and Carer’s Forum under the topic area “Special Events”.   

 

Each fortnight we focus on a different topic with a new guest. Topic Tuesday is facilitated by a Community Manager or Peer Support Worker.  

 

You can find a How to Guide: Topic Tuesdays here to help you get involved! 

 

Online Peer Group Chats:

Peer Group Chats focus on a specific topic and are guided by peer workers with lived experience of mental health issues. Counsellors are in the background to make sure chats are as safe as possible for participants. It is a space for peers to share their story and experiences, and connect with those who are going through something similar. 

 

Peer Group Chats are hosted outside of the forums, using a platform called Chatwee. To join an Online Peer Group, you will need to register for an account with Chatwee. On the night, follow this link and log in to your Chatwee account before the group starts.  

 

You can join our Online Peer Group Chats every second Thursday from 7:00-8:30pm (AEST/AEDT). 

 

Check out the FAQs page for more information. 

  

Community Calendar 

Every month the SANE team post a calendar with all the events and discussions we are hosting throughout the month.  The calendar can help you plan ahead for the topics you might be interested in.

 

You can find the most recent calendar pinned to the topic of Social Spaces in the Lived Experience Forum 

 

Event Discussions 

Throughout the year, there are a number of important event and awareness days. Here on the forums, we start discussions for those that are meaningful to our community.  

 

You will see our Peer Workers, Community Guides or Community Managers posting about important event days. We also list these on the monthly calendar.  

 

Special discussions 

Each month there will be special discussions, often on topics we are seeing in the forums community.  

 

These discussions might go for a day, week, fortnight or month. So, check out the calendar to see which discussions we are leading this month and how to get involved. 

 

FAQs

How will I find out about future events?

There are a few different ways you can find out about SANE events and discussions: 
 

  1. Check out our fortnightly email update: Every fortnight we send an email to members who have registered with the forums to let them know about the upcoming events and discussions. 

  2. Check out our monthly community calendar: At the start of every month, we post a calendar of discussions and events. 
  3. “Support” an event post: If you want to receive a notification for our live events, or want to be tagged in our special discussions, use the “support” button on the first post to let us know you want to be involved. We will send you a notification by tagging you in the forums when an event is starting.  

What’s the difference between Topic Tuesday and the Online Peer Group Chat? 

 

For Topic Tuesday we bring in a special guest on a topic of interest to the community and provide a space for the community to ask questions and share ideas. 
 
Online Peer Group Chats are led by peers, for peers, where the expertise and knowledge of lived experience comes from sharing your experiences of mental health and recovery.  

 

Another key difference is that Topic Tuesday is held on the SANE Forums and the Online Peer Group Chat is held on Chatwee through the SANE Website.  

 

Want to share your ideas for SANE’s peer support events and discussions? 

 

If you have a topic or idea you would like to see us explore on the forums or in the Online Peer Group Chat, you can email us at team@saneforums.org