Shoulder to Shoulder by With-you
Welcome to Shoulder to Shoulder
Shoulder to Shoulder is a podcast about the power of peer support and lived experience, and what happens when people who've been through tough times use that experience to help others.
But what is peer support? It's simple: people who've faced their own challenges offer understanding, connection, and hope to others going through similar challenges. That's the meaning of peer support, and it's at the heart of everything we do.
In a world that can make us feel alone when we're struggling, this podcast is a reminder that connection changes everything.
I'm Cate Munro, and each episode I talk with people who've faced real challenges - mental health struggles, addiction, trauma, grief, life-changing moments - and who now stand shoulder to shoulder with others on their own journeys.
My guests include peer support workers, people running peer support groups, and individuals whose lived experience has become their greatest strength.
They share their stories honestly: what happened, what helped, and how peer support made a difference.
Whether you're a peer support worker, thinking about becoming one, part of a peer support group, or simply believe in the power of human connection and shared experience, there's something here for you.
Before you listen: This podcast explores personal stories of growth, mental health and resilience. Some episodes include descriptions of trauma and distress. Please trust your instincts and look after yourself - it's always okay to pause or come back another time.
Thank you for being here.
Find out more about With-you Consultancy at www.with-you.co.uk
Episodes
44 episodes
EP 43: Ciara Glynn on Peer Support in Ireland, Trauma Recovery, and Compassionate Crisis Care
In this honest and thoughtful episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate speaks with Ciara, a peer support leader, trainer and activist from Ireland, whose own experience of trauma, distress and trying to find the right support has shaped the...
EP 42: “Recovery Isn’t Linear”: Charlie Fae on Young Sobriety, Peer Support, and Creating Sober Spaces That Feel Different
In this episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate speaks with Charlie, a peer support worker in an NHS community mental health team, a trainee therapist, and the founder of a growing sober community in Shrewsbury, whose own recovery has shap...
EP 41: Capital CEO Duncan Marshall on Recovery, Peer Support, and the Threat to Lived Experience-Led Mental Health Services
In this episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate meets Duncan, who works at Capital in West Sussex, a long-standing, lived-experience-led organisation that has spent nearly 30 years championing peer support, shaping services, and ensuring p...
EP 40: Naomi Salisbury on Self-Harm, Peer Support, and Why Lived Experience Must Be Taken Seriously
In this episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate speaks with Naomi Salisbury, whose relationship with peer support has spanned decades, both as someone living with mental health challenges and as a leader working to build better support for...
EP 39: Emma Bamber on community peer support, asylum seekers, and building belonging through food
In this episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate is joined by Emma Bamber, co-lead of Cafe Laziz, a peer-led community space supporting asylum seekers and refugees in St Helens.Café Laziz welcomes people who are socially isolated, ...
EP 38: “Your Life Is Not Over”: Michael John Norton on Psychosis, Recovery, and Peer Support
At 19, Michael was living with psychosis - hearing voices, seeing things other people couldn’t, and trying to hold himself together while training as a nurse.In this episode, he takes us right into the moment it all collided: on a hospit...
EP 37: Louise Nix on peer support, postnatal psychosis, and finding hope after trauma
In this deeply honest episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate is joined by Louise Nix, who reflects on the first moments of peer connection, how they helped her begin to heal, and how they led her into peer support roles.Lo...
EP 36: Dr Justin Bell on peer workforces, US recovery models, and why lived experience must shape how systems support people.
Dr Justin S. Bell is a community psychologist based in the US whose work sits in the intersection between lived experience, research, and system design. Justin studies how those in lived-experience roles are recruited, trained, supported, and t...
EP 35: Hansa Raja on Parent Carer Peer Support, feeling unheard — and why listening to carers changes everything.
In this episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate is joined by Hansa Raja, founder of Holding Space - a peer-led mental health support service created by and for parents.Hansa’s journey into peer support began when her child experie...
EP 34: Alex on peer support, recovery beyond services, and surviving harm in mental health care
Alex was first hospitalised at 16 - and spent much of the next eight years in and out of the same psychiatric unit. By the time she was discharged at 24, she was labelled “clinically recovered” but inside, she felt empty, hopeless, and lost.
EP 33: From Trauma to Peer Support: José Argudo on Recovery, Resilience & Giving Back
What happens when a car accident stops life in its tracks — leaving you facing pain, uncertainty, and a future you never imagined?In this powerful episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate speaks with José Argudo — husband, new dad, voluntee...
EP 32: Debbie Frances on carers, suicide prevention, and the power of peer support
Debbie brings a rare mix of lived experience, professional insight, and deep empathy to the world of suicide prevention. She became a carer at a time when support was scarce, patchy, and hard to navigate — and those early years shape...
EP 31: Professor Fiona Lobban on lived experience, peer support, and rethinking mental health research
Fiona Lobban has spent her life at the intersection of mental health, research, and lived experience. Growing up in the North East, she applied to Oxford “almost on a whim” — and walked straight into a culture shock that left her str...
EP 30: Louise Christie on lived-experience leadership and peer support in Scotland
Louise Christie leads the Scottish Recovery Network and has spent over a decade shifting power from systems to people with lived experience. She came into mental health from housing, regeneration and social enterprise — an outsider w...
EP 29: Claire Kendall on BBC journalism, burnout, and building peer support at work
Claire Kendall has spent three decades at the BBC and watched the job shift from fast hits to long, immersive reporting. The stories go deeper. So does the emotional load. When she saw that weight landing on reporters — and on the pe...
EP 28: Survival, Support & Strength: Rob Hope & Cat Neill on Trauma, Recovery and Peer Connection
When Rob lost his arm in a motorbike crash — and was left fighting to save his leg and shoulder — and Cat nearly lost her leg while out running, neither imagined their recoveries would become intertwined.In this mov...
EP 27: Belonging After Trauma: Emily Sole on Catastrophic Injury, Peer Support & Starting Again
What happens when your life changes in an instant — and nothing feels familiar anymore?In this moving episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate speaks with Emily Sole, a trade union professional, trainer, and peer suppo...
EP 26: Pain, Power & Peer Support: Ryiah Beesley-Gibson on Recovery, Identity & Starting Again
What happens when a single moment changes everything — your body, your identity, your future?In this moving episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate speaks with Ryiah Beesley-Gibson — a mental health practitioner, trau...
EP 19: *CARERS WEEK SPECIAL*: The Power of Care - Redefining the Economy with Ruth Hannan & Hannah Webster
In this inspiring episode of the podcast, we sit down with Ruth Hannan and Hannah Webster, co-founders of Care Full Economy, to explore how personal experiences as carers shaped their mission to transform the UK’s approach to care. Ruth ...
EP 25: Ian Smith: Former Rugby Super League Referee on Mental Health, Identity, and Peer Support
In this episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate speaks with Ian Smith, a former Rugby Super League referee turned mental health advocate with the charity State of Mind Sport.After officiating over 300 professional matches, Ian’s unexpected...
EP 24: Caring, Creativity & Change: Matthew McKenzie on Peer Support, Mental Health & Speaking Out
What does it mean to become a carer — and how does it change the course of your life?In this powerful episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate speaks with Matthew McKenzie, a carer, poet, author, and nationally recognised advocate for unpai...
EP 23: From Experience to Empowerment: Georgie Lazzari on Peer Support and Mental Health Recovery
In this episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate speaks with Georgie Lazzari — Peer Support Development Worker at Derbyshire Healthcare — whose inspiring career shift from marketing into mental health shows how lived experience can drive real, las...
EP 22: From OCD to Occupational Therapy: Matt’s Story of Peer Support and Hope
In this episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate speaks with Matt - a Peer supporter and Assistant occupational therapist in Hertfordshire’s mental health crisis team.After nearly two decades working in the water industry, Matt made a bold ...
EP 21: From Lived Experience to Leadership: Pete Fleischmann on Co-Production, Mental Health, and System Change
What does it mean to bring lived experience into the heart of public services — not just as a voice, but as a driver of real change?In this episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, Cate speaks with Pete Fleischmann, Director of Co-production Wor...
EP 20: Life, Loss, and Lifting Each Other Up: Lyndsay on Peer Support and Finding Hope
In this powerful episode of Shoulder to Shoulder, we’re joined by writer and mental-health advocate Lyndsay, whose lived experience has shaped her deep belief in the power of peer support. From the impact of a kind word during crisis to the eve...