Peer Groups

Looking for a Support Group near you? Join us at Headway Shropshire!

Ever want to just have a cuppa and talk about your story and your journey?

Come and join our Support Groups hosted by Lorna!

Give Lorna a ring!

Meet Lorna Walker

“Talking is healing”

Lorna is a brain injury survivor who leads the Support Groups at Headway Shropshire. She serves as a shoulder to lean on and a guiding voice for our clients, believing in the crucial role of a community who understands you in your brain injury recovery.

Her experiences as a brain injury survivor fuel her and her drive to help others. After her own rehabilitation, she sought a way for survivors to come together regularly, support each other and share information on their own journeys, aids and access to interventions.

And so, the Support Groups were formed where brain injury survivors can listen to each other and understand each other’s similarities and differences in situations.

*pictures of support groups; pictures of Lorna handling a support group*

What do I do when I join the Support Groups?

You can just drop by at the venues near you, and you’ll find Lorna, other volunteers, and their warm hospitality. Then, just do what feels right!

Our Support Groups are at the core of Headway Shropshire’s holistic approach to brain injury recovery. Whether that’s participating in the activities or just listening to Lorna and the others talk, the Support Groups provide a safe environment that lets you take your time on where you are on your journey.

You get to meet people who have gone through similar situations and people whose journeys are vastly different all at different points of their journeys but walking to a common goal.

What are the benefits of a peer support group for brain injury survivors?

Outside the formal medical care and therapy for a survivor’s recovery, there is another factor that may be missed: peer support.

The NHS defines peer support as a supported self-management intervention where people with similar long-term conditions or health experiences come together to support each other.

In peer support, individuals can create relationships with a foundation of acceptance and understanding. These are significant interventions to the often-felt isolation or loneliness that brain injury survivors may experience.

Through acceptance and understanding from others, brain injury survivors are given more room to begin accepting and understanding their own disabilities. This broadens the way for them to take accountability for their actions and take the steps in their journey for health and wellbeing all while in a supportive environment that understands their needs.

Peer support groups can counter the idea of brain injuries as a “misunderstood disability” by forming groups and perhaps, eventually, a community that understands brain injuries and works to raise awareness in the community.

The numbers on how peer support groups help you in your recovery

Studies have shown how peer support groups are beneficial for people looking to bounce back from a challenge such as a brain injury and improve mental health.

See below:

Support groups can improve quality of life, develop supportive and therapeutic relationships, and provide emotional support. [NHS England evidence review]
It can support people with long-term conditions and contributes to wellbeing [Realising the Value (2016), At the heart of health: realising the value of people and communities]
Peer support can aid mental health recovery, depression (particularly perinatal depression), and self-belief [2024 study published in BMC medicine]