Our Meetings.

Peer-to-peer support is a format that The New Normal has proudly adopted from inception in May 2018. We feel that the best form of therapy is to talk to others with similar life experiences.

We have been helping people through life’s difficult moments for over five years now, facilitating conversations between individuals who find themselves in similar positions. 

We deliver around 25-30 meetings per month for a range of grief and mental health experiences, communities and identities.  

Our spaces are free, inclusive and non-judgmental. And of course, there is never any pressure to talk if you would prefer just to attend and listen.

All of our meeting facilitators receive substantial training and have lived experience in the topic of the spaces they hold, ensuring genuine and empathetic peer support.

Read on to find out about our spaces, what you can expect in a meeting and view our upcoming meetings.

upcoming meetings.

Here you can find out what meetings are running over the coming weeks.

Click on the + symbol to view each week’s schedule. Click on a meeting name to find out more about it, and to register for that space.

Please note the time zone listed for international meetings.

“It’s changed my life wholly and helped me learn about and navigate my grief in a way I would never have been able to otherwise.”

What to Expect.

Each of our meetings were created to give space to openly discuss experiences of grief or mental health in an empathetic environment, in the knowledge that they are sharing with others who can relate. 

Once you have signed up for a meeting space, you will receive an email confirming this and with further information.

On the morning of the meeting you will receive an email explaining how to access the meeting. Our virtual meetings take place on Zoom and you will need to have, or sign up for, a free account.

Each space is facilitated by two volunteer ‘hosts’: these are peer attendees who have personal experience of the topic and support the running of the meeting. We provide our hosts with training and support to hold these spaces, but they are not trained professionals and do not give advice.

The hosts will read an introduction which includes the purpose of the space, practicalities on how to take part, and basic guidelines we ask all attendees to adhere to for ensuring the space remains as inclusive and kind as possible. 

Attendees are asked to introduce themselves with their name and the person(s) that have brought them there. We also share our pronouns, if comfortable, to create a respectful and inclusive space for all. 

Attendees are not required to speak for the rest of the meeting if they do not wish to, you can attend and just listen. Hosts will invite the group to share and will facilitate the session, ensuring everyone who wishes to gets the opportunity to speak. 

We do ask that everyone is respectful of privacy and to treat each other, and themselves, with kindness. Attendees do not have to censor their grief in our meetings: every experience is valid and to be respected.  

Each virtual meeting is around 1hr 15 minutes, with our in-person Good Grief meeting running for around 2 hours.

Closed captioning is enabled for each virtual meeting. Our in-person meetings are held in accessible buildings. We are actively working on ensuring our spaces are as accessible as possible for all people. If you wish to discuss any barriers to access or support needs for any of our spaces, please Contact Us. We will always try to help.

If you have further questions, please Contact Us.

“I find the sessions are an important part of my life, not only to talk but also to simply listen to others in the group. The safe space provided by TNN has had a positive effect on my own mental health.”
— Paul, Boys Talk & Grey Matters Attendee