Peer Support FAQs

Groups are run by lived-experience volunteers and are free to attend. However, there is a high demand for them and we need to use a first-come-first-serve ticketing system (via Eventbrite) to limit numbers.

Details of how to book a ticket through Eventbrite are sent out the day before each session – so you will need to join our mailing list to receive the link. You must secure a ticket for each session to be able to access a peer support call – they’re not freely available to everybody on the mailing list. If a session is sold out, you will be able to join the waiting list. If people pull out of attending prior to the session, their tickets will be offered to those on the waiting list in the order you joined. Please note that being on the waiting list does not mean you will be able to attend the session unless you receive an email offering you a ticket.

Yes – as long as you believe you are currently experiencing Depersonalisation and/or Derealisation, you can join the group.

In order to maintain an atmosphere where everybody feels comfortable speaking, and to mirror the dynamics of an in-person group as much as possible, we require everybody’s webcams to always be turned at all times on during the call. We understand that people can feel anxious about joining the groups and might feel uncomfortable sharing at first, but we do ask that you sign up for the session intending to participate and support your peers – unless you have a medical condition preventing you from doing so.

As an organisation, we are bound by strict GDPR laws when it comes to data protection and the sharing of personal information. We do appreciate that people who meet through peer support might wish to stay in touch after a session finishes, but we are unable to be party to the sharing of anybody’s contact details under any circumstances. We regret that this is the case as it is something that people frequently ask for, but please know that this stance has been taken simply because it is a legal requirement for us – not because we are trying to be in any way obstructive to members of the community connecting with each other. If you wish to connect with another attendee, we would recommend that you verbally arrange during the session to mutually comment underneath one of our social media posts so that you can discover each other’s handles.

Safeguarding our peer support sessions is of paramount importance, and as such we need to make sure that anything posted in the chat is carefully monitored. As such, during the call you will be able to send messages to the Unreal facilitators but not the other attendees. It might be that your facilitator can post something of relevance to the members of their breakout room if it’s important to the conversation, but we don’t allow attendees to freely post links or private-message other attendees.

The peer support programme is run by a small team of volunteers, all of whom have other commitments such as work and family. They are also all living with DPDR themselves, so it’s important that they can put their own mental health first and not be overstretched by their charity work. We do recruit new facilitators when we are able to, but we do also need to be mindful of managing our in-house resources so that we don’t overcommit ourselves. Ensuring the safeguarding of the calls and giving people the best experience possible are our main objectives, and we can’t jeopardise that by trying to operate beyond our means. However, you may like to consider donating to Unreal which really helps us to grow our operations.

Given how in-demand places are for peer support, we do ask that you anticipate being able to commit to the full hour when booking a ticket. However, if you feel triggered, uncomfortable or need to leave the session for any other reason you are free to do so. If you do need to leave the session early, we ask that you send your facilitator a private message via the chat function to let them know what’s going on. If you leave the session early without letting your facilitator know why, or if it’s thought you might be in distress, a member of the Unreal team might send you a follow-up email afterwards to enquire about your wellbeing.

We understand that not everybody has access to a fast, stable internet connection. Often if your connection is temperamental, your view of the call might just freeze or glitch from time to time; but if your connection drops out more significantly, Zoom can sometimes disconnect and remove you from the session. If this happens in the early part of the session, one of our facilitators will usually be able to re-admit you onto the call if you re-join. However, once the breakout rooms are open, all our facilitators are then busy running and managing their individual groups and can’t routinely re-admit anybody who leaves the call for any reason. We know that it can be difficult to secure a ticket for Unreal Peer Support and it can be frustrating if your connection means you cannot continue to participate – but there’s only so much we can do to accommodate individuals’ poor connections, and we need to prioritise the smooth running of the sessions for everybody else.

Yes – so long as you have access to Zoom, you can connect from anywhere in the world. Please note that session times are all given in UK time, so you may need to calculate the time difference, and the groups are run in English.

As there is such a high demand for sessions, the only fair way for us to ensure that everyone has an equal chance of attending is to offer places on a first-come-first-served basis. Unfortunately, we cannot reserve places for individuals in advance. We will send out the booking link the day before the session is due to take place.

If you have any further questions regarding our peer support programme, please email us and a member of our team will do their best to answer them.