Our core purpose is to work with people and lead communities in improving their mental and physical health and wellbeing for a better life; through delivering excellent and responsive prevention, diagnosis, early intervention, treatment and care.
All the information you need about working for us, recruitment, job opportunities and careers within mental health, learning disability and substance misuse services in Surrey and Hampshire.
Our research and development aims are to embed a vibrant research culture within our Trust, increase the opportunities for people to participate in research and ensure that our research benefits people who use services, carers, families and our communities.
SUN is for people who:
Some of the issues a person may be experiencing, include:
How they think about themselves:
How they relate to other people:
Know someone who might benefit from attending a SUN group?
Send them our leaflet.
Attending a SUN peer support group helps people to get the support they need and gives them the opportunity to share their experience to help others. Each group meeting follows the same three stage format with breaks in between each stage:
A RASP helps SUN to understand the needs of each SUN member and how to support them. It clarifies the steps you take to cope with stress and any challenges in life so that SUN knows how best to help you in times of crisis. It also aims to support your general wellbeing and help you to plan ahead if you know you are going to be facing a difficult situation. Because SUN groups are about encouraging mutual support, the RASP also asks you to think about your role in supporting others and what may make this easier or harder at times.
Check Out: People can talk about how they are feeling at the end of the group and what advice they have received that they will be taking away with them.
A clinician and a SUN facilitator with lived experience will act as the facilitators for each group. They will introduce each session and ensure the group follows the set format. They will also participate in the discussions where this is helpful and where this is needed.
During the breaks, the facilitators will leave each session but you can choose whether or not you would like to remain in the group to talk to other SUN members.
All the work in SUN is done within the group as the peer support element is key. The facilitators do not spend individual time with members.
To find out more, watch our video with SUN members.
Everyone attending the group is asked to respect each other's confidentiality and to not disclose anything discussed within the group outside of the group.
To attend SUN groups and to become a SUN member, you will need to be registered with a GP in Surrey or North East Hampshire. Please note that if you change to a GP out of this area, your SUN membership will be closed, however if you register with a GP in Surrey or North East Hampshire in the future, you will be able to register with SUN again.
To become a SUN member, complete the online membership form.
Please note SUN is self-referral only. If you do not get a response from us within 2 working days, please email us at sun.admin@sabp.nhs.uk or call 01372 216700 so we can support you to complete the referral via phone.
To complete the membership process, you will also need to fill in a Resource and Support Plan (RASP) at your first two SUN groups. Once completed, you will be an active SUN member and your membership will not be time limited. If you register and do not attend a group or do not complete a RASP within 6 months, your registration will be closed and you will need to complete the membership form again.
If you have any questions about SUN that you would like answered before deciding whether or not to become a member, please complete the online enquiry form and our SUN admin team will get back to you. Alternatively, you can also contact us by emailing SUN admin at: sun.admin@sabp.nhs.uk or calling: 01372 216700.
Once you have completed an online form for joining a SUN group, we will contact you to book you into a group. After you have attended your first group, the booking process is different depending on whether you want to attend face-to-face or virtually.
For face-to-face, you only need to book in for your first group and then you can drop into any face-to-face group at any venue. You can also drop into a face-to-face venue if you have previously attended virtually.
If you want to attend virtually, you need to book in for each group (we limit numbers on MS Teams to ensure everyone is visible on screen). We will send you an invite and instructions on how to join. Every time you book into a virtual group, you will receive a separate link, so please remember to use the right link for each meeting. You can attend a mixture of face-to-face and virtual groups if you wish.
Members are encouraged to let us know if they are unable to attend, as online SUN groups are very popular and only have limited space, so their space can go to someone on the waiting list.
Please contact SUN on sun.admin@sabp.nhs.uk for latest group timetable.
We hold a virtual meeting on the first Thursday of every month, from 11.30-12.30pm. At these meetings, we will go into more detail about how SUN works and you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you have about the service.
To book onto a meeting, please email: sun.admin@sabp.nhs.uk
Watch our recorded virtual event.
SUN is based on best practice principles for running therapeutic communities like our peer support group:
This is how we apply the principles
SUN empowers members to recognise and understand their own and others’ emotions and actions using verbal communication. Through this process of reflecting rather than reacting immediately, SUN group members can arrive at balanced decisions together. Members respect each other by adhering to a group agreement in order to avoid unsupportive behaviour. Working towards interdependence helps SUN members to create healthy attachments and relationships in a contained and safe environment. SUN facilitators and members support each other to maintain boundaries and stay grounded by sticking to the group structure with clear timings. The SUN model is co-produced, and groups are co-delivered by facilitators with lived experience and clinicians. SUN encourages members to actively participate in the groups, as the facilitators do not bring an agenda but encourage members to agree collaboratively how the space will be used, which helps members to take more responsibility for their own and others’ wellbeing and care. SUN also encourages members to participate in business aspects of the model, such as joining us for presentations to share their SUN experience with prospective members and external professionals; or joining focus groups and business meetings to contribute ideas for service development and be actively involved in the integration of new ideas into the service.
Some may only have mild difficulties and seek support at times of stress, others may have more severe difficulties which impact their wellbeing, relationships and every day lives. It is important to say that even though a person's difficulties may be long standing, there is much that can be done to help. You can find out more about personality disorder here: NHS Mind Rethink Royal College of Psychiatrists
Our health professionals only collect the personal data required to ensure a person receives the support they need. For more information about how data is held, please go to our information sharing page.
"Talking about my problems makes me feel like I have now put them in a box. I have never attended a group like SUN before."
"This group is really helping me, because otherwise I wouldn't be talking to anybody about anything. It always helps me to hear how people cope and their strategies."
"There's no other place like SUN. Only place I've ever felt 100% accepted."
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