How Does It Work?
Working with Participants
At the core of the mentoring service, there are fundamental principles about the way in which mentors and other professionals work with participants. Some of these principles underlie the approach of many organisations but the Peninsula Medical School evaluation of the Upstream project has identified the principles clearly and highlighted the benefits of this approach. The principles include:
- Empowerment of individuals and groups: Giving people the skills to decide what they want to do and giving them the opportunity to do it. The impact of this on older, isolated people cannot be under-estimated.
- Self-efficacy: Enabling people to be effective. Not only to have the self-confidence to decide what they want to do but also the ability to do it; helping people find ways to overcome the physical barriers to involvement in activities as well as the psychological barriers.
- Developing positive self-image: Encouraging people to believe in their own skills, and to be confident that they are interesting to other people.
- Individual choice: Recognising that each person has individual interests and needs and making sure that activities are tailored to suit their needs. In the case of groups, the aim is to ensure that each person continues to have their individual needs supported within the context of the group dynamics.
- Meaningful activities: Introducing people to activities through which they can explore new ideas and skills that are relevant to each individual’s self-concept. Activities that provide the opportunities and incentive for people to continue their interests at home.
- Independence: Helping people to remain independent for as long as possible rather than providing support that encourages dependence.
- Motivation: Encouraging enthusiasm and enjoyment, so that people have fun, learn new skills and are motivated to maintain their activities.
- Building social networks: Making it easier for people to keep social contact and to share experiences with other people; making it possible for people to support each other if they wish to; helping to put people in touch with their communities, and helping communities support more isolated individuals.
- Identities: Releasing people’s unexplored creative identities and generating new social and group identities.
