SUN (Service User Network) is a community network of peer-support groups. It is for people who are experiencing difficulties with complex emotions often associated with Personality Disorder, but you don’t need a diagnosis to attend.
SUN groups can support someone by helping them to share their experiences with others who are feeling the same, or similar.
These groups are for people who find their emotions are affecting their relationships, or have difficulty managing their emotions.
The aim of SUN is to support someone in the community by connecting them with like-minded people who are feeling the same. This helps someone to feel less isolated and can help them to manage their feelings before they reach the point where they can’t cope.
SUN groups are led by a facilitator with Lived Experience and a clinician facilitator.
You can access SUN if you have been diagnosed with personality disorder
or
If you are struggling with symptoms associated with the condition, but don’t yet have a diagnosis.
Without a diagnosis, you might be experiencing some of the following symptoms:
- Low self-esteem
- Consistent feelings of emptiness and uncertainty
- Difficulty in connecting with your own emotions
- Setting yourself unrealistically high standards
- Difficulty with intense, overwhelming or fluctuating emotions, or difficulty recognising or expressing emotions
- Feeling of behaviour being out of control and difficulty in setting and working towards goals
- Difficulty in coping with or resolving conflicts
- Difficulty connecting or empathising with others
- Difficulty finding a balance between your own needs, and those of others
- Current or previous use of alcohol or drugs to cope with difficulties
Each group session works to support the group to share experiences and coping skills to get them through difficult times and to guide them to other groups that might benefit their mental health.
Group sessions are structured like this:
- Check in: In each group we’ll ask attendees to check in and check out, which will help us better understand how people are feeling and what they would like to talk about.
- Discussion: Here we go over any themes raised in the Check in, so attendees can share experiences and provide one another with advice.
- Check out: People can talk about how they are feeling at the end of the group, and plans to manage over the coming days as well as a chance to reflect on some of the benefits from the session.
When the SUN service is fully rolled out, it will be available both in person and online to people across Kent and Medway. The groups will start to launch in some areas in late February 2024. For further details please email us at SUN.
You can attend SUN sessions if you live in Kent and Medway and are over 18 years old.
To sign up and find out more about our locations, email SUN.