Mainstream therapy and mental health support can often feel unhelpful and inaccessible.
Lots of people are frustrated with the mental health system, and some of us are turning to AI chatbots – finding it more helpful than professionals.
My own lived experience has shown me that peer support can be one of the most powerful ways of feeling connected to others and moving forward with life. There’s also a growing body of evidence showing just how effective peer support can be.
This is what OpenCampfire is built around – lived experience, peer support, and connection.
why I started opencampfire
Hi! I’m Eleanor – I set up OpenCampfire. I was inspired by a lifetime of lived experience, and years of struggling to find ‘the right help’. After learning about complex trauma and neurodiversity, things began to make more sense. I realised that mainstream help was causing me more harm, and I discovered peer support was much more helpful than talking to professionals.
Since then, I’ve created all sorts of peer support spaces which have directly inspired OpenCampfire, especially Kindling Space, a real campfire group I set up in nature just outside Brighton. I also created Ted Camp, an arts & wellbeing project centred around a cosy tent full of soft toys, for people to hang out, chat, connect, and adopt a ted to take home!
OpenCampfire is also heavily inspired by the work of Nicky Forsythe who created Talk For Health, the original ‘therapy without therapists’ peer programme which ran very successfully for years in the UK. Talk For Health taught basic counselling skills, including reflective feedback, to enable laypeople to become effective peer counsellors.
OpenCampfire is also inspired by the 12-Step Anonymous addiction support programme, some chapters of which run 24/7 online peer groups. It’s life-changing to be able to join a Zoom at any time of the day or night, and hear inspiring stories from peers with similar life experiences. I’d love to see that kind of support available to a much wider range of people. That’s what OpenCampfire is trying to do.
Why opencampfire is Different
One thing that makes OpenCampfire different is what happens after someone shares. We give people the space to share for a set length of time, followed by an optional invitation to receive reflections from peers around their share.
Having the chance to hear what your story brought up for other people often creates a much deeper sense of connection than simply moving on to the next person. Those reflections are often where the magic happens.
learning to listen
It’s important people don’t give advice that hasn’t been asked for. Understanding this is an emotional literacy skill which can be taught. We teach basic reflective listening skills, introduced organically within sessions and modelled by peers for others to use with reminders in each campfire.
These simple skills help create stronger feelings of belonging around the campfire, and they’re surprisingly useful back in everyday life too.
join from anywhere
OpenCampfire is open to people of all ages, genders, nationalities and backgrounds. Most of our campfires take place online (with some IRL ones too!), so all you need is an internet connection to join.
OpenCampfire is especially helpful if you’re struggling, particularly on those days when leaving the house feels like an impossible mission. Well, that doesn’t mean you have to be alone.
Join an OpenCampfire from anywhere in the world, at any time. We’re here with you.
“Hi! I’m Eleanor – I was inspired to create OpenCampfire from my own lived experience. I struggled with feeling lonely, often unable to make it to in-person events. I found helpful peer groups online but quickly saw a way to make the experience more powerful!”