You're a Peer Support professional. What are some common decision making mistakes you could be making?

As a peer support professional, you help others cope with mental health challenges, trauma, addiction, or other issues. You use your lived experience, empathy, and skills to build trust, offer guidance, and empower your peers. But sometimes, you may face difficult decisions that affect your work and your well-being. Here are some common decision making mistakes you could be making and how to avoid them.

1 Not setting boundaries

One of the most important aspects of peer support is establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries with your peers. Boundaries help you define your role, protect your energy, and prevent burnout. But sometimes, you may feel tempted to overstep your boundaries, either by taking on too much responsibility, getting too emotionally involved, or blurring the lines between personal and professional relationships. This can lead to stress, confusion, resentment, or ethical dilemmas. To avoid this mistake, you need to be clear about your scope of practice, communicate your expectations and limits, respect your peers' autonomy and choices, and seek supervision or support when needed.

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Stéphane WAHA

Peer support worker, trainer and coach
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Une des erreur que peuvent commettre tous les professionnels, yc les pairs-aidants, est de revêtir le costume du sauveur. Cela peut perturber le jugement, changer la relation, conduire à l'épuisement... La proximité induite par la relation de pair peu renforcer cette tendance qui est pourtant souvent bien ancrée en nous. En être conscient et travailler à la juste proximité de nos pairs sont deux manières de ne pas commettre cette erreur. Participer à des intervisions entre pairs-aidants ou des supervisions permet de garder cela en tête et de rester adéquat.

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2 Relying on intuition

Another common decision making mistake is relying too much on your intuition or gut feeling. Intuition can be a valuable source of insight, especially when you have a lot of experience and knowledge. But it can also be biased, influenced by emotions, memories, assumptions, or stereotypes. Sometimes, your intuition may conflict with evidence, feedback, or best practices. To avoid this mistake, you need to balance your intuition with critical thinking, research, and consultation. You need to question your assumptions, check your facts, seek different perspectives, and weigh the pros and cons of your options.

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3 Avoiding feedback

A third common decision making mistake is avoiding feedback, either from your peers, your supervisors, or your colleagues. Feedback can help you improve your skills, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and learn from your mistakes. But sometimes, you may fear feedback, either because you think it will hurt your confidence, damage your reputation, or expose your flaws. To avoid this mistake, you need to embrace feedback as a learning opportunity, not a personal attack. You need to seek feedback regularly, listen openly, respond respectfully, and act on it constructively.

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4 Jumping to conclusions

A fourth common decision making mistake is jumping to conclusions, either by making hasty judgments, generalizing from one case to another, or ignoring alternative explanations. Jumping to conclusions can lead to misunderstandings, errors, or missed opportunities. Sometimes, you may jump to conclusions because you lack information, time, or patience. To avoid this mistake, you need to slow down, gather more data, analyze the situation, and consider multiple possibilities. You need to be curious, flexible, and open-minded.

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5 Confirming your beliefs

A fifth common decision making mistake is confirming your beliefs, either by seeking information that supports your views, ignoring information that contradicts them, or interpreting information in a way that favors them. Confirming your beliefs can lead to overconfidence, prejudice, or resistance to change. Sometimes, you may confirm your beliefs because you want to be right, avoid conflict, or fit in with others. To avoid this mistake, you need to challenge your beliefs, expose yourself to diverse sources, acknowledge your biases, and accept uncertainty. You need to be humble, respectful, and adaptable.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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You're a Peer Support professional. What are some common decision making mistakes you could be making?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Not setting boundaries

2 Relying on intuition

3 Avoiding feedback

4 Jumping to conclusions

5 Confirming your beliefs

6 Here’s what else to consider

Peer Support

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You're a Peer Support professional. What are some common decision making mistakes you could be making?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Not setting boundaries

2 Relying on intuition

3 Avoiding feedback

4 Jumping to conclusions

5 Confirming your beliefs

6 Here’s what else to consider

Peer Support

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