The current group of Peer Supporters have completed a 30 hour training programme and will receive ongoing training and supervision throughout the academic year with the LSE Student Counselling Service.

For biographical details see our list of all Peer Supporters with some information about them and their email addresses so you can choose who to contact. If you would like a peer supporter to conact you, please email sws.peer.support@lse.ac.uk and someone will respond within a week (usually much more quickly).

All Peer Supporters can be contacted by any student regardless of their year of study, whether they are living in a hall of residence or in private accommodation. Peer Support is not specifically a buddy system for freshers, anyone can contact a peer supporter to talk over anything they wish, in confidence.

Any LSE student can contact any Peer Supporter. 

Some of our Peer Supporters have recorded videos to introduce themselves to you. Get to know them here!

Accounting and Finance student, Amy - A.Cheung3@lse.ac.uk

Social and Public Policy student, Naveen - n.venkatanarayanan@lse.ac.uk

LSE wants your studying and working environment to be welcoming and inclusive. However we realise that, at times, this environment can be challenging.

At these times it can be useful to speak to somebody who has been through something similar and the LSE Peer Support Scheme seeks to be reflective of the diversity of the LSE student body as a whole:

• Supporters from different ethnic, cultural, national and religious backgrounds
• Disabled and non-disabled supporters
• Supporters from LGBT+ backgrounds
• Supporters from different age groups and different genders
• Supporters with experience of caring responsibilities.

Watch our Peer Support Scheme video on Youtube

Peer Support is a proven, successful programme which runs at many universities in the UK and the US. It provides students with a confidential space to talk and be listened to. It can sometimes be hard to talk to friends and family about certain issues, therefore the Peer Support Scheme provides a crucial service for students to talk to other students about anything they are worried about.

Peer Supporters are not counsellors, nor can they provide you with solutions to your problems. However they have been specifically selected and trained in listening, questioning and responding skills so they can help other students to reach their own solutions. It can make a huge difference to talk to someone who is non-judgemental, impartial and outside of your situation.

Peer Supporters are available and happy to listen to anything you are finding difficult. 

These are some of the issues that Peer Supporters have supported their fellow students with:

Peer Supporters can also signpost you to other services in the School where you can get more specialist help and support.

Applications to become a Peer Supporter in 2023-24 are now open. The last date to submit your application is March 31st, 2023. See here for more information on becoming a Peer Supporter.

Apply to become a Peer Suppoter here!

The scheme is open to undergraduates, MRes/PhD students and 2 year Masters students; specifically you need to be currently studying here when you apply and available for the next academic year.

Watch a video about how to become a Peer Supporter on YouTube.

If you have any questions about the application process, please email c.duncan1@lse.ac.uk.

What does confidentiality mean?

Everything you talk about to a Peer Supporter is kept between you and them. All the Peer Supporters have signed a document to this effect. They regularly reflect with the Scheme's coordinator, and may discuss issues that have arisen but will keep your identity confidential.

However in certain situations for the safety of the person seeking help, the wider community and the Peer Supporter, they may need to disclose certain information and will inform you of this whenever necessary.

In such circumstances, breaking confidentiality does not mean that what you have shared becomes public knowledge. A Peer Supporter will only tell the relevant person/s with regard to maintaining safety e.g.. a Warden or LSE counsellors.

Peer Supporters will never share anything you have told them with their friends.

Will talking to a Peer Supporter really help me

Talking to a Peer Supporter is not guaranteed to help, however 'a problem shared is a problem halved'.

Peer support schemes have been successful here and at other universities as they allow an informal, confidential and student-led method of support. Hopefully, Peer Supporters enable a student to feel more at ease than in a formal setting. They can possibly relate to a fellow student in a more successful manner than a professional who is no longer a student.

Who supports the Peer Supporters?

The Peer Supporters attend a reflective meeting with an LSE Student Counsellor every two weeks. In this way, the Peer Supporters can learn more and talk about what difficulties, pressures or issues they themselves might have.

What if the Peer Supporter doesn’t understand and can’t help me?

If you find that talking to the Peer Supporter has not provided the level of support and help you desired, there are other services designed to help you at LSE and in the wider community. The Peer Supporter is trained and will be happy to signpost you to a suitable method of support. The LSE Student Counselling Service provides more formal help. It is also important to register with a GP in London once you are resident here. A list of other external resources is available here.   

Can I choose which Peer Supporter I contact?

Yes. Find out more about the Peer Supporters by reading their biographies. This list also contains their individual contact details. There might be some Peer Supporters based in your hall of residence, however any LSE students can contact any Peer Supporter. Just drop them an email with your contact details so they can get back to you.

Is my problem too small and irrelevant?

No. No problem is too small. Peer Supporters are there to help you with any worry, concern or issue.  A Peer Supporter also understands that what may seem small to some may be a big concern for others.

Can I use Peer Support to get help for my friend?

We are trained to support the person in front of us. We can listen to your worries regarding someone else and if you feel they are in danger or are a danger to others its important to encourage that friend to contact the Student Counselling Service or their GP.