Setting up a peer-befriending scheme for people with aphasia

Over 8 weeks this online course will look at the benefits of peer-befriending for people with aphasia and how you may set up such a scheme in your clinical setting.

We will:

Review the current evidence for peer befriending.

Provide a training manual and resources that will assist you to train peer-befrienders and monitor the ongoing running of the scheme.

Share videoclips of peer-befriending visits and peer-befriender supervision sessions to illustrate key aspects of the intervention.

Highlight topics to cover during befriender training and how to address risks and safeguarding issues.

Discuss the practical issues of identifying and matching your befrienders; and challenges to address during supervision.

Show you how to monitor the scheme and evaluate whether it has been helpful to your clients.

Who is it for?

This course is ideal for Speech and Language Therapists who would like to set up a peer-befriending scheme (or enhance an existing service) for people with aphasia or other clinical populations. Other rehabilitation professionals, e.g., Occupational Therapists, Clinical Psychologists, Neuropsychologists, as well as third sector organisations or therapy assistants would also benefit.

Timetable

This will be an online course. It will run 3 times in the academic year of 2025/26 , the available dates are:

21st  September 2026
18th January 2027
10th May 2027

The course will be delivered online using pre-recorded content, materials and resources that can be accessed anytime by attendees. Though the course runs over 8 weeks, participants will have access to the materials for 4 months and can complete the course flexibly. Each session will take approximately 2 hours to complete and can be accessed flexibly online at a time to suit attendees. There will be opportunities for live online discussions with the course facilitators, which will be arranged at times to accommodate people in different time zones (where possible).

Benefits

Attendees will develop a) the skills and knowledge to set up and run a peer-befriending scheme with people with aphasia (and/or similar acquired communication conditions) in their own clinical settings and b) know how to evaluate the scheme effectively to demonstrate how it may enhance and extend their service.

Topics covered

The course will cover the following elements:

Weeks 1-2: Research evidence base on peer-befriending and the SUPERB peer-befriending scheme

Week 3: Recruitment and training of befrienders

Week 4: Peer-befriending visits. Organising the visits and preparing befrienders: how to plan, reduce risks, and what to do during visits.

Week 5: A) Self-directed revision and consolidation 1. B) Online Q&A and discussion with facilitators of aspects covered so far, e.g. matching, safeguarding, visits.

Week 6: Supervision and support of befrienders

Week 7: Monitoring fidelity and evaluating outcomes

Week 8: A) Self-directed revision and consolidation 2. B) Online Q&A and discussion with facilitators on all aspects of the course and dealing with problems during visits

Resources

• Q&A Forum
• References
• Video-clips
• Intervention training manual
• Peer-befriender handbook
• Fidelity checklists
• Outcome measures
• Other resources

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Understand the relevant literature and the benefits and challenges of peer-befriending.
• Identify key aspects to be included in the training and supervision of peer-befrienders.
• Utilise resources provided to design a peer-befriending scheme for your service to enhance the support that you are able to give people with aphasia.
• Select outcome measures that can be used to measure whether the scheme has been effective.

Teaching format:

This course will be run entirely online. Each week you will be able to log in and watch pre-recorded materials (e.g., PowerPoint, videos) and access a range of resources (e.g., intervention manual, journal papers) to help develop your understanding and knowledge of peer-befriending. Online Q&A Forums will be available for attendees to communicate with one another and the course facilitators. At key points of the course, you will have live online group discussions with the facilitators.

No formal assessment, however, you may be asked to complete a pre- and post-course questionnaire. You will receive a certificate of attendance upon completion of the course. You may also be asked to complete a questionnaire 3-6 months and 12 months after the end of the course.

For people who need to claim course hours, the CPD hours you could claim are 16-20 hours.

This course is provided by the School of Health & Medical Sciences.

This course requires the participants to be familiar with aphasia; have experience of communicating with people with aphasia; and expertise with working with people with aphasia. It is applicable to any rehabilitation professional or assistant working with people who have aphasia or other acquired communication disorders.

English requirements

Participants need to be fluent in spoken and written English.

You may want to have a look at the SUPERB website prior to the course https://blogs.city.ac.uk/superb/about/ The course facilitator will suggest reading materials during the course.