Catherine Maddock
Catherine Maddock was originally born in Manchester, England. She moved to Wales with her family as a young child and has remained here since. While she went back to England to attend University, she always considered Wales her home and missed the strong sense of community, countryside, beaches and mountains. Catherine currently works as a Peer Support Worker in Mental Health Services and joined HEIW as a Project Support Officer for Lived Experience in September 2023.
Catherine states:
"Having originally worked in finance, I often encountered situations in which I supported vulnerable customers – spending a lot of time hearing people’s stories and the difficulties they were going through. As I enjoyed this part of the job so much, I decided that it would be a good development for my career to move into this field full time and move into counselling. I also thought maybe I could even go down a psychology route, as people find it easy to open-up to me.
"I always wanted to work within the NHS and carried out lots of research into how I could get a job in mental health. During my research, I discovered that there was something called “Peer Support”. This approach can be effective in supporting people as you can share your lived experience of trauma and offer a positive change, show genuine empathy, empower the person at the centre and their network and help inspire people to move forward in their mental health recovery, alongside healthcare professionals.
"I have often found that people can open up to a Peer Support Worker with ease, due to the mutuality of their situations. People would often request to see me, so they could talk to someone who’s position it was to listen, encourage, empower, empathise and bring to them a story of hope. These conversations are important in building relationships and connection which supports recovery. Peer support workers can help teams to see the person at the centre from a different perspective so by working together collaboratively, with the extensive knowledge and experience from the multidisciplinary team and with peer giving their lived experience expertise, people who use services have found it invaluable.
"When I first started in this position, I was given the autonomy to navigate the role and develop it to help support people who use services and the wider team. I created a support structure within the crisis team, I had my own case load, developed a referral system, set up group skills and voiced opinions in multidisciplinary team meetings to help support the voice of the users of service and suggested ideas for change. I have been told on many occasions how my personal understanding and perspective added value to team conversations, and I supported different ways of working.
"When I first started in my role as a peer support worker with the crisis team, I found that there was some uncertainty from the team around whether it was appropriate for me to help people at risk. However, once they saw how I highlighted safeguarding risks and the positive feedback from service users, their opinions gradually changed, and they began to really see the benefits of working alongside a Peer Support Worker.
"From my own experience it’s useful to have a space to explore the experience of working in Peer Support and reflect on that learning as we are constantly dealing with different situations and unique challenges.
"In my current position with HEIW, I am working as part of the Strategic Mental Health Workforce Plan to support all areas of Wales expand the use of Peer Support, as only four health boards in Wales currently employ Peer Support Workers. In the national team we all have experience working in lived experience roles ourselves and have used this experience to work together to grow and support Peer Support in Wales.
"In the future, I hope to be part of developing the Peer Support Training offer in Wales as a university course or something similar, to give the role more cache and respectability, and provide a formal qualification alongside our lived experiences. Once this is established, I would like to lead a group of peers and work more closely on the governance and training development of the role. I also want to create a safe space for people using mental health services and to support peers within the role.
"I really enjoy working in Wales and feel it is a lot easier and quicker to build connections with people as they have a lot more interest in you as a person – often asking about your family and personal interests. I find that people in Wales always want you to do well and encourage you in any way they can. Wales has a great “buzz” to it and feels very multicultural and supportive. People always tell me how friendly Cardiff and Wales is compared to other parts of the UK they have lived in.
"I currently live in Cardiff and really enjoy the area as there are so many things to see and do. I find the culture of the city very appealing and feel like it is a real up and coming place. There are always new sights to see and adventures to go on that I haven’t tried before, and I am very happy to call Cardiff my home.
"I find living in Wales is also a great place to enjoy my hobbies, which include taking my dog for walks on some amazingly scenic routes. I love the sense of achievement and views I have when I get to the top of a big mountain. There is a real community spirit when you are out walking, and people will always say hello to you or even stop to have a chat. I often pop into the centre of Cardiff to enjoy the hustle and bustle of the big city and do some shopping also.
"If you are looking for career progression, Wales is a great place to move to as there is so much passion and drive in the people in Wales."