The Portsmouth Peer Support and Wellbeing service is for people needing support with their mental health. Our groups and workshops are based at our Portsmouth Wellbeing Centre, PositiveMinds, on Arundel Street.

What is peer support?

Peer support is a person-centred form of support where people with lived experience work alongside those needing support. Our peer practitioners have lived experience of mental health themselves and can relate to how you are feeling. 

We can support you with:

• Workshops for managing wellbeing
• Peer support groups 
• PIP (Personal Independence Payment) advice
• Information and signposting

Please note that our services are not a crisis centre or 'Mental Health A&E' and we don't stock or prescribe medication. We are also not a gateway into secondary mental health services. 

For urgent support, contact the NHS on 111, or call Samaritans on 116 123.

Do you receive support from Adult Mental Health services?

If you're currently being supported by Portsmouth Adult Mental Health NHS services, you can ask your care co-ordinator or mental health professional to refer you for one-to-one peer support from us.

(Please note: if you've recently been discharged from hospital, you can still be referred for our peer support groups and workshops but you won't be able to receive one-to-one support.)

Information for professionals

If you are a professional, wishing to refer someone into our service, please complete the referral form. This link can be for referral form from any other organisation. 

Professionals must have consent from the individual before making this referral.

Looking for employment support?

We also offer support to help people with mental health conditions find, stay and success in work. 

Find out more about our Employment Support in Portsmouth

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) drop-ins

We also host Personal Independence Payment (PIP) drop-in sessions. These take place:

• Tuesdays - 10.00am to 1.00pm
• Wednesdays 1.00pm to 3.00pm

The PIP drop-in is for pre-booked appointments only - please book using our drop-in calendar.

What we can help with

The drop-in is an opportunity for service users to get support and advice with form filling, assessments, mandatory reconsiderations and appeals/tribunals. These sessions are to help both people looking for last minute/short-term help with their PIP, and those hoping to work on their form independently but don't know where to start.

For more information about the PIP drop-in, please contact us on 02392 824795.

Related content:

Staff spotlight: Tom and Melissa, Portsmouth Wellbeing services

Tom and Melissa reflect on their roles as part of our Peer Recovery and Wellbeing service team, supporting people in Portsmouth with their mental health.

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