One on One Peer Support Care Work Sessions

What is peer support care work?

Peer support care work falls somewhere between the worlds of informal talking things out with trusted loved ones (friends and family) and formal clinical psychology (aka therapy or counseling).

I consider peer support care work to be the next iteration of mental health care, as it minimizes the hierarchical nature of a counselor/client relationship and strives to regard both facilitator and recipient as equals. At its core, I hope that my care work practice provides you with a space to verbally process whatever it is that comes up for you. I intend to offer compassion, care, and gentle reflection while we hold space together for you to process.

While we will likely cover topics of mental health in our time together, I am not a licensed therapist or professional counselor. That said, I will be able to speak from lived experience on the following topics: depression, anxiety, C-PTSD, unspecified neurodivergence, suicidality, "high-functioning" depression and anxiety, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, bullying, dance specific trauma, restrictive eating, perfectionism, people pleasing, relationship loss and divorce, ethical nonmonogamy and polyamory, kink, queerness, avoidant attachment, burnout, community building, firearm safety, breaking up with social media, and identifying and communicating wants, needs, and boundaries.

I welcome your perspective on these topics and more, and will always honor you as the greatest expert in your own lived experience.

Is this work appropriate for you?

Peer support care work might be a good fit for you if you are interested in mental health support outside of the box of more traditional therapeutic models or mental health services. This work is also helpful for individuals without insurance, for whom the cost of therapy might be a barrier. Peer support care work can also be an appropriate supplement to a mental health care network that does involve traditional therapy, but could benefit from being supplemented by a peer's perspective. Ultimately, if you feel a call to share what's going on in your life and receive support in turn, then this work is appropriate for you.

How is this different from traditional therapy or counseling?

Credit to Jack Giles for some of the sentiments and language structure below, including the development of check-in sessions.

Traditional therapy discourages self-disclosure from the practitioner to the client. In peer support care work, I will share relevant personal experiences if I think they may support our session.

Traditional therapy also often involves an inherent power dynamic, with the therapist viewed as the expert and the client as the learner or receiver of information. In peer support care work, I will always view you as the expert of your own experience and me as the expert of mine. Ideally our sharing of experiences will support you, but neither party will hold or can exert power over the other.

Traditional therapy interacts with capitalist and carceral systems, often under mandate to report to or call the police if a person is viewed as at risk of harm to themself or others. I will never call the cops on you. Instead, we will discuss an emergency plan and contacts that best suit you if an emergency need arises.

Traditional therapy often leaves little room for feedback from client to practitioner. In peer support care work I will encourage you to provide me with feedback on how these sessions are landing for you. If desired, a check-in session can be scheduled free of charge whenever something doesn't feel good or needs to be addressed.

So how does it work?

Peer support care work with me is available in 50-60 minute phone, video, or in-person sessions. Our initial session will be guided by an intake form and subsequent sessions can be structured or free-flowing. We will work together to determine what format for sessions best suits your needs and can change our structure at any time.

If you are interested in working together, please fill out the contact form to get started. Once you have contacted me I will respond via your preferred contact method with an intake form and a link to schedule a free phone consultation. The phone consultation will last 30-60 minutes and we will use the time to discuss the type of support you hope to receive in working with me. We will also discuss rates, scheduling, and any questions you might have for me. Once this process is complete and if you still desire, we will schedule your first session. If information about my services does not feel like a good fit, I will do my best to refer you to an alternative provider.

Care work sessions are offered at a sliding scale ranging from $25-$100, with the goal of an average of $50 per session. A sliding scale self-assessment guideline has been provided below, adapted with permission from Jack Giles and Olly Scarbeary. If monetary payment is not accessible for you, I am happy to discuss trades for produce, groceries, meals, body work, and art such as tattoos or hair styling.

Childcare

I have extensive experience caring for children of all ages, from the newborn days to early puberty. I have worked as a "mother's helper," full-time live-in nanny, and everything in between. I adore children of all ages and would love to work with you to provide consistent care and support for your little ones.

My rates for childcare are $25-30 an hour depending on the number of children and the scope of care required.

Organizational support, body doubling, and accountabili-buddying

I am gifted with free flowing and easily accessible organization skills and love making order out of chaos. Organizational support can involve tackling a pile of dishes, a cluttered desk, a pantry, a room, or just a corner that has been overwhelming you.

An organizational support session will involve me asking questions about how the space is working for you currently, what your goals for the space are moving forward, and working with you to sort through and organize your belongings to meet that goal.

I can provide calm, focused, judgement free support as we organize together, I can body double to keep you on track while you handle a task that has been daunting, or I can come in and handle organization under your direction if the physical task of moving and sorting is too much. I am also happy to provide accountability services remotely, checking in periodically to support your progress towards a lifestyle shift or new goal. I am highly experienced in working with individuals with ADHD and fully support the necessity of "doom piles."

All organizational related services are sliding scale to be determined based on the scope of the work with a general hourly rate of $25-50. If monetary payment is not accessible for you, I am happy to discuss trades for produce, groceries, meals, body work, and art such as tattoos or hair styling.

Once booked, the following cancellation policy will apply.