I wanted to answer some of the questions people ask most often about peer support, coaching, groups, and working with me.
If your question isn’t answered here, please feel free to reach out. I know that finding support can feel vulnerable, and I want you to have the information you need to decide whether this space feels right for you.
People ask this question a lot, and honestly, there are many ways to answer it.
For me, peer support is about creating a space where another human being can sit with you as you navigate your experiences, challenges, goals, and healing.
Peer support brings lived experience, mutual understanding, empathy, and connection.
Peer coaching involves reflection, curiosity, structure, and tools that can help you move toward the life you want to build.
Together, they create a space where you can explore what matters to you, reconnect with yourself, and move forward at your own pace.
I don’t see this work as directing people or telling them what to do.
I see it as walking alongside people while they discover what feels right for them.
The biggest difference is that peer support is rooted in mutuality and lived experience.
I am not here as an authority on your life.
I am not here to diagnose you, evaluate you, or determine what is best for you.
I believe you are the expert on your own experiences.
My role is to offer support, perspective, connection, and a space where you can explore what matters to you.
This is a non-clinical relationship grounded in autonomy, respect, honesty, and human connection.
Most of the people who find Unlock Psych have experienced psychiatric hospitalization, psychiatric incarceration, psychiatric trauma, coercive treatment, overmedication, loss of autonomy, or other harmful experiences within mental health systems.
Others come because they are looking for support from someone who understands trauma, healing, recovery, and rebuilding trust in themselves.
Whether your experiences happened recently or many years ago, you are welcome here.
Every session is a little different because every person is different.
Some people want to process psychiatric trauma.
Some want to talk through grief, anger, fear, or uncertainty.
Some want support creating routines, building self-trust, exploring identity, or reconnecting with parts of themselves that feel lost.
Some simply want a place where they can be honest and feel understood.
There is no rigid agenda.
There is no expectation that you need to have everything figured out.
We start wherever you are and move at a pace that feels comfortable for you.
The consultation gives us a chance to meet, talk, ask questions, and get a sense of whether working together feels like a good fit.
There is no pressure to continue afterward.
I believe it’s important for people to have an opportunity to connect before deciding whether ongoing support feels right.
The support groups are peer-led spaces for survivors of psychiatric harm and psychiatric incarceration.
The purpose of the groups is simple: connection.
We gather to share stories, listen, support one another, and remind each other that we are not alone.
In addition to our main Unlock the Psych Ward Doors group, we also our Reading Circle and hope to add additional groups in the future.
If community is something you’ve been looking for, I would love to welcome you.The support groups are peer-led spaces for survivors of psychiatric harm and psychiatric incarceration.
The purpose of the groups is simple: connection.
We gather to share stories, listen, support one another, and remind each other that we are not alone.
Some meetings take place on HeyPeers and others take place through our Skool community.
In addition to our main Unlock the Psych Ward Doors group, we also our Reading Circle and hope to add additional groups in the future.
If community is something you’ve been looking for, I would love to welcome you.
Yes.
What is shared in sessions and groups is treated with respect and confidentiality.
Something else that is important for people to know is that my work is rooted in non-carceral values.
Many survivors have learned that honesty can feel dangerous because of experiences they have had within systems that responded to vulnerability with coercion or control.
I want to create something different.
My approach is rooted in compassion, consent, autonomy, and harm reduction.
My goal is to support people, not police them.
You are welcome here.
Many people are still actively navigating psychiatric systems when they first find Unlock Psych.
Others have been out of those systems for years.
There is no requirement that you be at a particular stage of healing or recovery before participating.
Wherever you are in your journey, you deserve support.
Absolutely.
Because sessions and groups are held online, people from many different locations are able to participate.
As long as you have internet access and the meeting times work for your schedule, you are welcome to join us.
That makes sense.
Many people who find this community have been hurt, dismissed, ignored, or misunderstood in the past.
Reaching out can feel vulnerable.
You don’t need to have the perfect words.
You don’t need to know exactly what you need.
You don’t need to have everything figured out.
You can simply start with a conversation.
A Final Note
At the heart of Unlock Psych is a belief that people deserve connection, autonomy, dignity, and community.
This is not about fixing people.
This is about human beings showing up for one another.
My hope is that whether you attend a group, schedule a session, join the Reading Circle, or simply spend time exploring the website, you leave feeling a little less alone than when you arrived.
And if you’re ready to connect, I’d be honored to meet you.
If you have other questions, feel free to contact me directly — I want to make sure you feel safe, supported, and informed before participating. You can contact me either through the form on my contact page, directly message me through our Skool group, or send me an email.
