Amanda’s Story: Supporting people in recovery to connect, build confidence and trust
Amanda’s Story: Supporting people in recovery to connect, build confidence and trust

Recovery Stories: peer support for connection and compassion enabling recovery from alcohol and drugs

Amanda Stephen is lead practitioner for peer support services in Fraserburgh, with Turning Point Scotland. In this podcast, Amanda shares how she initially engaged with the service during active addiction and early recovery, and how this built and led to

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34:40•12 Jan 2023

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About this podcast

Recovery Stories: peer support for connection and compassion enabling recovery from alcohol and drugs

Lucia D’Ambruoso

This podcast series shares community empowerment experiences from peer supporters working with Turning Point Scotland in Aberdeenshire helping communities dealing with alcohol and drug problems. Practitioners and peer support workers share how they have used their personal experiences to help at-risk groups supporting recovery from addiction through processes of connection and compassion. Communities play critical roles in public health. The active participation of communities in health services has long been recognised as a pro-equity approach enhancing legitimacy and acceptability of decisions, and furthering trust in public institutions. Community empowerment can complement health systems responses, address health inequalities, and build future resilience. The pandemic severed many, critical links between service users and providers, however, and put extraordinary demands on existing services. There is lack of trust within and between experts, institutions, health care workers, and population groups, who experienced significant impacts. In this scenario, support mechanisms enabling connection and trust relationships require urgent attention. Despite support, there is a lack of practical guidance on how to ‘do’ community engagement and empowerment, especially in the settings and for the populations most severely affected. While health systems are committed to tackling inequalities, connecting with people living with complex lives and needs is highly challenging. Peer support is the process of giving and receiving nonprofessional, nonclinical assistance from individuals with similar conditions or circumstances to achieve long-term recovery from psychiatric, alcohol, and/or other drug-related problems (Tracey and Wallace, 2016). Turning Point Scotland (TPS) provides an established community service bringing together people with shared experiences in safe spaces of connection and compassion. The series is hosted by Dr Lucia D’Ambruoso from the Aberdeen Centre for Health Data Science within the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition.

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Episodes: 4

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Amanda Stephen: From Struggle to Strength - Leading Peer Support in Fraserburgh

“It's a huge amount of emotions and that struggle in your own head. Everybody gets a chance to speak about everything going on. Um, and it seems like change- pardon me, the atmosphere within the group, and it's like an attitude, a gratitude, positivity, and that's what we're wanting.”

Imagine facing the darkest moments of addiction and then turning those experiences into a beacon of hope for others. That's exactly what Amanda Stephen has done. In this heartfelt episode of 'Recovery Stories', Amanda opens up about her personal journey from active addiction to early recovery, and how it led her to become the lead practitioner for peer support services in Fraserburgh with Turning Point Scotland.

Amanda's story is not just about her own recovery; it's about the transformative power of peer support and community connection. Amanda talks candidly about how peer support services helped her build confidence, trust, and meaningful relationships. She highlights the importance of creating a safe and consistent environment where individuals can find loving acceptance. One of the key elements she discusses is the necessity of setting boundaries within peer support, which helps maintain trust and build successful support networks.

The episode also sheds light on the changing landscape of drug and alcohol use in Fraserburgh, particularly among young people. Amanda emphasizes the need for destigmatizing addiction and focusing on prevention as much as on recovery. She believes that community empowerment can play a crucial role in complementing health system responses, addressing health inequalities, and building future resilience. Amanda's insights offer a powerful reminder of how peer support can positively impact both individuals and communities.

Her story is a testament to the strength found in connection and compassion, making this episode a must-listen for anyone interested in the complexities of addiction recovery.

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