Last night I ran an online training session for YouthNet’s chat moderator volunteers (I’ve written a post about what is is like to moderate real time support chat for young people here). We all joined a chat room in YouthNet’s online volunteer community for an evening session. The focus of this chat was talking therapies…
Tag: YouthNet
Guardian Voluntary Sector Network Xmas Volunteering
Representing online volunteering in the Guardian Just before Christmas I wrote a piece for the Guardian on why I volunteer at Christmas. It was a personal explanation of my motivation to volunteer, why I’ve continued to do so since leaving YouthNet and why it’s particularly important at Christmas. It was one of a series on Christmas…
E Learning and Digital Cultures – initial insights from a metaMOOC!
Do you ever start something new and find yourself thinking ‘I should have been doing this for ages’? I had a very strong case of that this week as I began a new Coursera course called ‘E Learning and Digital Cultures‘ online. Last year I watched a fascinating TED talk by Daphne Koller, one of…
Wilderness, jungle or ecosystem? Does the language often used to talk about ‘online’ encourage unhelpful assumptions and distinctions?
The power of language Language is a powerful tool. I’ve written before about the value of metaphor in mental health support and how it can reframe and change perception as well as helping people understand subjective experience. Language is also a tricky thing – the way we frame things in words can influence how we…
Having a Moodle – what I’ve learnt about online learning.
After a recent dinnertime debate was resolved using the internet, a friend of mine said wistfully “Sometimes I just speculate indefinitely for old times’ sake”. I expect that this is a sentiment that we all recognise – the way we approach what we don’t know and the way we develop our knowledge is changing. So…tell…
Who’s in agony? – problem pages today and through history
Teen magazine problem pages I recently had reason to remember a scene from my childhood – my friend Jess and I in a tent in a field, surrounded by old copies of teen magazines, reading the problem pages with a strange mix of awe and derision. There was the frisson of excitement caused by the…
Volunteering and mental wellbeing – perspectives as a volunteer and as a volunteer manager
Radio Lollipop Last Wednesday evening I was in an old tube train, in a courtyard in Great Ormond Street, presenting a radio show which played out in rooms all over the hospital. Children could call in and request songs, or sing along – we told jokes and ran a competition to see who could do…
Essential skills for giving online peer support – a course in development.
The essential skills advisors and peer supporters need for giving advice, information or support online These are some of the basic skills that supporters and advisors find useful when working online. The support offered might be one to one (email style), peer or expert support, moderating forums or moderating real time chat. Depending on the…
Giving help that makes a difference – the subtleties of emotional support online
A question of jealousy Take a look at this relationships question about jealousy: “I’m always worried my boyfriend is going to cheat on me when he’s out with his friends. I’m always texting him when he’s out and it annoys him but I have no confidence that he won’t cheat. We live together and have…
Mind the gap – GPs, antidepressants and mental health support for young people.
“I’m not going to give you another prescription” “What… but I need it.. (panics)” “Don’t worry, I was just testing to see if you really did still need them..and I think you do” GP in Fenham, Newcastle “Just take them when you feel you need to” – to me aged 17. GP in Cumbria “So,…
Metaphor, mental health and online support.
What is successful online support? There is no foolproof formula for successful online support. Using the written word to ensure someone feels listened to, understood, informed and positive about their next steps is a complex and varied task. As with any inexact science it’s much easier to identify when something is done right. It’s a lot…
If xLy iff yLx is true, then x cannot stop loving y unless y also stops loving x … thoughts on relationships advising and philosophy
Earlier on this week I rediscovered a website called askphilosophers.org. It’s a question and answer service where people post questions which are answered publicly by philosophers. All the sections are pretty interesting (check out the environmental philosophy section) but particularly relevant to us who work on askTheSite was the section on love and emotions. There was…
Overcoming barriers and taking steps to support – why we’re developing services on TheSite.org
The notion of barriers to support is a common one in information, advice and guidance, but the particular way it is informing the new Step Finder project we’re working on grew organically out of our teams work. Personal and practical barriers For example on the discussion boards we’ve seen questions about how to call Samaritans– what…
Using the web to provide peer support for emotional health and wellbeing
This is a write up of my thoughts, experience and findings from the In Petto conference ‘Exploring Online Peer to Peer Support’ in Antwerp. I attended this, along with a volunteer peer advisor last November. Structures and systems for providing online peer support. At the conference we were focusing in more depth on peer support and…