Informal peer support during tough times: Learning from young people providing help

Summary

The study is examining Australian young peoples experiences of providing support to each other during tough times. The project is exploring what resources young people who support others have access to and what information and resources young people need for the future. This research will generate a detailed understanding of the experiences and needs of young people who are supporting friends going through mental health illness, contributing to the broader understanding of young people’s needs, and more broadly contributing to acceptable interventions across complex contexts.

Chief Investigator: Dr Benjamin Hanckel (Chief Investigator)

Research Assistants: Dr Jasbeer Musthafa Mamalipurath; Amelia Henry

External Collaborators: Tom Riley (batyr Australia), Stephanie Vasiliou (batyr Australia) and Dr Erin Dolan (Victorian-based Clinical Psychologist)

Funding: batyr Australia (opens in a new window) and Western Sydney University

Period: 2021-2023

Contact: Dr Benjamin Hanckel at b.hanckel@westernsydney.edu.au

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The Institute for Culture and Society is located in Parramatta, “the place where the eel sets down” in Dharug language,
along the north bank of the Parramatta River. It sits on the traditional lands and waters of the Burramattagal people of the Dharug Nation,
who have been stewards and caretakers of these territories since time immemorial, in what today is referred to as Greater Western Sydney,
one of the most diverse cultural communities in the world and home to the largest number of Indigenous Australians in the country.
The Institute for Culture and Society acknowledges the Dharug, Eora, Dharawal (also referred to as Tharawal)
and Wiradjuri peoples as traditional custodians and Indigenous knowledge-holders, whose storytelling serve
as historical record, a form of teaching and learning, a way to care for Country,
and an expression of Indigenous culture and identity.