Peer Support
Last updated 12/01/26
There are numerous peer support groups at the University of Exeter run by students. Time and time again we’re shown the power of peer support – if you’re contemplating signing up we definitely recommend giving it a go and seeing if it’s for you!
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Guild Peer Support Groups
Eating Difficulties – “The Eating Difficulties Peer Support Group (EDPSG) are a volunteer-run group who aim to offer a safe, friendly and non-judgemental environment for fellow students with eating difficulties or body image issues. No “diagnosis”, membership, or fee is required to attend our sessions. Instead our Wellbeing trained facilitators create a place where struggling students can open up about their difficulties and offer support to others going through similar things. We aim to run sessions once a week during term time, where two facilitators are present. We also use various social media platforms to advertise our sessions, promote eating disorder awareness and pass on resources for support. Follow us on Instagram (@edpeersupportexeter) for latest updates. Feel free to DM or email (edpeersupport@groups.exeterguild.com) us with any questions!”
Find out more about the Eating Difficulties Support group
Chronic Health - The Chronic Health Peer Support Group is a student-led support group to help those struggling with any type of chronic, physical condition (one that is persistent or recurring). It is a safe and non-judgemental space in order to allow people to talk openly about their struggles and meet other people who might be experiencing the same things. The sessions are facilitated by trained student volunteers.
We hold bi-weekly peer-led, support sessions to talk about any difficulties, as well as some chilled socials to allow our members to meet each other. The support sessions will encourage conversation around different struggles that people are facing but it’s also okay just to listen! Socials won’t focus on talking about physical issues but of course we are always open to listening to anybody and would encourage this amongst members. It would also be great to carry out some events to raise awareness or even some fundraisers.
The Chronic Health Peer Support Group meets in person, weekly on Tuesday evenings 6:30-7:30 in Forum Seminar Room 12. For further information, please see our Instagram Page below:
Find out more about the Chronic Health Support Group
University Peer Support Groups
Fatigue Social Group – A student support group designed for anyone who experiences fatigue and share experiences. The group is not just people with a diagnosed condition and encourages everyone to pop in at any point during the year. The group is facilitated by AccessAbility and Wellbeing staff and is a relaxed environment where you can chat, play games and do craft. Details on group can be found here.
The Autism Spectrum Community (ASC) Social Group – A student social group that welcomes any student identifies with autism spectrum conditions (such as Asperger's syndrome), or believes they would benefit from being involved. The group is facilitated by two AccessAbility advisors and involves varying activities such as games or crafts – it is not essential you take part in the activities if you do not want. Any questions please email accessability@exeter.ac.uk or visit this page for more information.
Peer Support – Peer Support – A variety of peer support schemes where you are matched with higher year students who offer informal advice and guidance. Depending on the scheme, support can relate to either academia (e.g. same module or discipline) or transition into university life.
Schemes include:
· Mature Student Peer Mentoring
· Disabled Student Peer Mentoring
· MFL PAL
· CBS Ethnic Minority Student Peer Mentoring Programme
Find out what schemes are running and how to join as a Mentor or Mentee on the Peer Support website. You can contact the Peer Support team at peersupport@exeter.ac.uk or find them on Instagram @uoepeersupport.
Peer Support Services
Neurodivergent and Disabled Students Society – Within the Neurodivergent and Disabled Students Society, we strive to create a community for all disabled students, including neurodivergent, physically disabled, learning disabled, mentally ill, self-diagnosed and undiagnosed individuals. Our society provides a space for students to meet others with similar experiences through our regular social events such as game nights, cafe trips, special interest presentation nights, and regular community forums. As a society, the NDSS also works to campaign and raise awareness for disability rights issues, whether these are accessibility issues faced by a single student, or regulations that impact the entire student body.
For more information or if you have any questions, join our Discord Server or follow our Instagram.
Instagram: @NDSS_Exeter
Join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/Z5a4yftZjH
Contact our email: NDSS@groups.exeterguild.com
Registering a Peer Support Group
Peer support groups are an incredibly powerful way to provide support to your fellow students. Equally, learning to facilitate support sessions is an incredible skill and a rewarding experience.
Deciding your target group
It’s important to consider who your group will support. It can be helpful to review examples from our current live peer support groups to better understand the types of student groups they address. Having a specific group in mind is important because it allows people to connect with others who share similar experiences. It also means that facilitators can have more specific training. If you’re unsure if your target group is too broad or narrow, just talk to us.
Registering your group with the Guild
Being part of the Guild will allow us to support you with funding, training, contacts with wellbeing and outreach to students.
Peer support groups are exempt from the usual society registration process; you do not need to complete our registration form or go through the voting stage. You will instead need:
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- A target group and purpose
- An idea of how you’d like the group to run
- 2 lead committee members
To share your plans and express interest in setting up a group, email us at activities@exeterguild.com. A member of the Activities Team will contact you to schedule a meeting to discuss your registration.
What you need to run a peer support group
Once you’re registered as a group, it’s essential to be aware of what is needed to run sessions:
- A team of facilitators – at least two facilitators should be present during support sessions. This is good to keep in mind when deciding the regularity of support groups, i.e. how much capacity you require
- Facilitator training – Facilitators must be trained before running a support session. The University's Wellbeing Team usually offers this.
- A regular room booking, with consistent session times, will be helpful for attendees.
- People to attend the sessions – outreach is an essential part of running a support group. There are various ways you can collaborate with other peer support groups and the Guild and Wellbeing to reach out to students.
- Resources, including (more information will be provided upon setting up the group) a constitution, Annual Risk Assessment, Facilitator Agreement, Set of Ground Rules for the operation of your group, a Facilitator Handbook, Job Description for Facilitators, Application Form for Facilitators and Interview Questions for Facilitators. The Activities Team will support you in establishing all of these resources.