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SUN

(Service User Network)

A community-based peer support service for people experiencing difficulties with complex emotions - often associated with personality disorder - that affect how they feel, cope with life and manage relationships.

What is SUN?

Our SUN service is:

  • open-access, community-based peer support with lifetime membership; there is no time limit on membership and no expectations of attendance frequency – members are free to attend as much as they find helpful.
  • done within a group setting (there is no “one-to-one” time), the groups are peer-led and members will be encouraged to decide on how to make use of the space together. Currently taking place with a group maximum of 7 people, both online and at community venues across Surrey and North East Hampshire.
  • based on therapeutic community principles, using cognitive and psychodynamic theory. It is therapeutic in nature but is not a therapy group.
  • supported by two facilitators, one of whom is a peer support worker with lived experience, and one of whom is a registered clinician.
  • delivered by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SABP) in partnership with Community Connections Surrey (which MFT is lead provider of).
  • delivered by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SABP) in partnership with Community Connections Surrey (which MFT is lead provider of).

Who is it for?

Our service is available to:

  • people aged 18 and above, registered with a GP in Surrey or the Rushmoor & Hart boroughs of Hampshire.
  • people with difficulties commonly associated with personality disorder. However, people do not need to have a formal diagnosis of personality disorder or be using any other mental health services to attend SUN.

How SUN could help

The benefits of the SUN group are:

  • a sense of belongingness, connection and inclusion
  • having a safe space to explore thoughts and feelings
  • validation from shared experiences
  • learning from each other’s life experiences
  • developing an understanding of how they relate to themselves and others, and how others may relate to them
  • learning different ways of dealing with difficult situations
  • developing an understanding of their thoughts and emotions, so they can process and deal with them instead of feeling controlled by them
  • developing confidence and self-worth

View our SUN group timetable to see where the sessions are held.

To find out more about how SUN works, you can join our SUN Virtual Events happening on the first Thursday of every month at 11.30am-12.30pm. It is open to prospective members and professionals alike. To book your place, please contact sun.admin@sabp.nhs.uk

Alternatively, you can watch the recorded SUN Virtual Event presentation below.

How to register

SUN is self-registration, so if you’re interested or know anyone who could benefit from SUN, please contact the SUN admin for a Welcome Pack. This includes registration details and further information about the SUN group.

Get in touch

Please get in touch if you have any further questions, would like more information or would like to refer yourself by calling 01372 216 700 or emailing: sun.admin@sabp.nhs.uk

Megan

Delivery and Strategy Lead: Co-Production and Community Engagement (Leatherhead)

Portrait of Megan, Co-Production Lead, MFT

Megan joined MFT in January 2025 and looks after the development of our strategic priority for MFT to live and breathe co-production. She also facilitates our Advisory Group, and champions those with lived experience of mental health challenges to improve the way mental health support is developed, reviewed, and delivered.

Megan first learnt about co-production as a Lived Experience Advisor with the Independent Mental Health Network based at Surrey Coalition of Disabled People, contributing her own lived experience to mental health projects in Surrey and North East Hampshire after graduating university.

She has since worked on a range of development projects for Surrey’s mental health and wellbeing support, immersing community engagement and lived experience into research and decision-making. Additionally, she is an alumna for The King’s Fund after completing their Advanced Organisational Development Practitioner programme.

To maintain her wellbeing, Megan is an avid reader, journals, and practices Yoga.