What is a mental health advocate?

An advocate is someone who supports, champions or speaks up to defend a topic, person or concept. When it comes to mental health, this advocacy goes beyond superficial displays of support for those who suffer from a mental illness. A mental health advocate is fearless in sharing their own stories as part of their advocacy, both to empower themselves and allow others to have their own voices heard.

This can be through any appropriate platform — in our case, it’s online and in the form of a team of compassionate peer counselors who advocate for mental health and wellness with the individuals in a virtual forum.

Being a mental health advocate: For yourself

As the expression goes, you can’t help others until you’ve helped yourself. It’s for this reason that we’ve chosen to partner with counselors who have honed and developed the necessary skills to advocate for themselves, and extend that emotional resilience to others. They are now aware of the power peer counseling for trauma and other disorders can have. As mental illness advocates, they know how to:

• Be vulnerable in working to unpack and express their truths
• Be true to, love, and honor themselves so that their story and support for others comes from a place of stability, self-understanding and clarity
• Find strength before opening up to those they listen to. Our counselors have found ways to cope and tools that work for them in healing old wounds.

We’re proud to partner with people who have these powerful and unique attributes and want to use what they’ve learned to positively influence others’ journeys.

Being a mental health advocate: For others

From a wide range of applicants, we only select the top 3% counselors who we feel are best equipped to champion human connections. Our community of online counseling experts, all have a willingness to share their own battles and triumphs to **help others find their voice. ** We know this isn’t possible without the all important elements or authenticity and relatability.
That’s why we let you steer your own selection process when looking for a counselor on the Peer Collective platform. These mental health activists play an important societal role in breaking down the stigmas, taboos and other barriers for those seeking help with their mental health. Talking openly about our life experiences is welcomed and necessary on the road to health and healing. Think of a peer counselor as a guide, actively listening and equipping you with tools to cope along the way.

Mental health activists and empathetic listeners

Empathetic and experienced individuals with a wealth of knowledge, both first-hand and from extensive training, is exactly what you can expect from Peer Collective’s counselors. If you need a little help getting back to a state of wellness, why not start with a little self-compassion? Reach out for support from a mental health advocate by scheduling your first free online session.