Information for OPERATORS
Is your operation wanting to provide peer support to its aviators? If you want to know more about our services, we're here to help.
BizAvPeer for Business Aviation
Recent FAA developments on mental health, including recommendations from its Mental Health & Aviation Medical Clearances, demonstrate a seismic move towards reducing barriers to seeking help. For US business aviation operators, confidential peer support provides a practical way to support this shift. Trained aviation peers offer a trusted first point of contact, encouraging early help-seeking and helping address issues before they affect wellbeing, performance or safety.
The BizAvPeer program is a growing network of trained peers - all working aviators themselves - based throughout the US, selected, trained and supported by the Center for Aviation Psychology (CAP)'s Mental Health Professional.
They have been trained to support their fellow colleagues whever they are, whatever they fly and whoever they work for.
Aviators from participating operators have access to the trained peers via this website and the support they provide by phone. The also have access to The Resilience Hub - CAP's customised suite of aviator-specific, resilience building online modules
BizAvPeer is based on the successful tailor-made peer support programs that we run for multiple operators or sectors of aviation industry covering over 32k aviators. The program is administered and governed to the highest standards of confidentiality and data security, with the ability to provide trend data (never individual) to participating operators.
To find out more, contact us directly or see our comprehensive question & answers.
Aedrian Bekker
Clinical Psychologist and Director of CAP
Why Peer Support works
Providing peer support makes it much easier for aviators to ask for help. Not just any help - but the support of a trained peer who knows exactly what it's like to be an aviation professional and the lifestyle and operational challenges this involves.
In conjunction with other resources an operator may offer, peer support is a particularly cost effective way of supporting workers who might not otherwise seek help or avoidant in doing so, but who may be desperately needing it.
Our experience is that most operators see the value of a well-run peer support program in managing what is in part, a known risk. Our clients see how equally relevant PSPs can be for other safety critical roles, such as cabin crew and engineers.
BizAvPerr provides the independence, confidentiality, Mental Health Professional governance that pose a particular challenge for many business operators.
What is the business and value case (i.e. ROI) for peer support
Not surprisingly, we believe there is a very good one! And like all investments in safety and employee well being, it is important to understand the ROI in terms of the value it offers, risk management, the saving of individual careers (and well being) and the associated company and individual costs savings.
Established PSPs in larger airlines have been able to demonstrate the significant cost savings to their company in several ways. In addition to being a concerned employer and risk aware operator, the cost savings of retaining and supporting pilots in their hour of need (and avoiding unnecessary future pilot recruitment and training costs to backfill a position) often results in PSPs paying for themselves several times over.
The Center for Aviation Psychology
The Center for Aviation Psychology (CAP) promotes psychological well-being through confidential access to our specialist psychologists and resources.
In response to the wake of the German Wings incident and to meet future EASA and FAA directives, the Center for Aviation Psychology was established in 2016 to support aviation professionals as they adapt to this new and emerging landscape.
We know that there are problems to be solved by those in Aviation - and we know that these issues are incredibly sensitive. We believe they require practical delivery with professional expertise. Our teams provide the reassurance you need on both fronts - we have years of clinical expertise and a track record of delivering successful organisation-wide interventions.
See our main website for further information.