he PeerLink Program aims to provide students with the skills and coping mechanisms to deal with the stress they experience on a daily basis. The program will aid students in creating their own coping strategies to manage stress and use self-care methods to maintain a healthy headspace. Additionally, students will be give opportunities to participate in events and connect with other students to build a supportive peer network.
The PeerLink Program runs as a four-week buddy program and incorporates two types of sessions to engage the supporter and supportee in self-care methods. The first type of session will be the group session where all supporters and supportees will gather to engage in team building and peerrelaxation exercises. The second type of session will be the individual sessions where supporters will educate the supportees on mental health tracking, relaxation techniques and time management techniques. These meetings will personalise the program experience for the supportees and allow them to build rapport with their supporter.
PeerLink’s success can be envisioned through a greater awareness and conversation of mental wellbeing on campus. The program aims to provide students strategies to cope and prevent stress in a caring and collaborative environment. Students will also be more aware of on campus mental health services thus increasing their engagement with Campus Wellbeing (Macquarie University’s counselling service). In the long-term PeerLink will be an established program where every semester students are allowed to connect and educate each other on stress-preventing mechanisms.
