Peer support: Difference between revisions

Peer support has been shown to be effective in substance use and related behaviour, treatment engagement, and ameliorating risk behaviours associated with HIV and hepatitis C,<ref name=tracy2016>{{cite journal |doi=10.2147/SAR.S81535|title=Benefits of peer support groups in the treatment of addiction|year=2016|last1=Tracy|first1=Kathlene|last2=Wallace|first2=Samantha|journal=Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation|volume=7|pages=143–154|pmid=27729825|pmc=5047716}}</ref> and empowering people with mental illness and improving their quality of life.<ref name=bellamy2017>{{cite journal |doi=10.1108/MHSI-03-2017-0014|title=An update on the growing evidence base for peer support|year=2017|last1=Bellamy|first1=Chyrell|last2=Schmutte|first2=Timothy|last3=Davidson|first3=Larry|journal=Mental Health and Social Inclusion|volume=21|issue=3|pages=161–167}}</ref> Its effectiveness is believed to derive from a variety of [[psychosocial]] processes first described by Mark Salzer and colleagues in 2002:<ref>{{cite journal | last = Salzer | first = Mark | year = 2002 | title = Consumer-Delivered Services as a Best Practice in Mental Health Care and the Development of Practice Guidelines| journal = Psychiatric Rehabilitation Skills | volume = 6 | pages = 355–382| doi = 10.1080/10973430208408443 | s2cid = 5163131 }}.</ref> social support, experiential knowledge, social learning theory, social comparison theory, the helper-therapy principle, and self-determination theory.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Mead | first1 = S. | last2 = MacNeil | first2 = C | year = 2006 | title = Peer Support: What Makes It Unique? | url = http://www.psychosocial.com/IJPR_10/Peer_Support_What_Makes_It_Unique_Mead.html | journal = International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation | volume = 10 | issue = 2 | pages = 29–37 | access-date = 2011-11-02 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160831172431/http://www.psychosocial.com/IJPR_10/Peer_Support_What_Makes_It_Unique_Mead.html | archive-date = 2016-08-31 | url-status = dead}}</ref>

Peer support can occur within, outside or around traditional mental health services and programs, between two people or in groups. Peer support is increasingly being offered through digital health like text messaging and smartphone apps.<ref>Fortuna KL, Venegas M, Umucu E, Mois G, Walker R, MS, Brooks JM. The Future of Peer Support in Digital Psychiatry: Promise, Progress and Opportunities. Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry. 2019; 1-11. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40501-019-00179-7</ref> Peer support is a key concept in the [[recovery approach]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/recovery/peer_workers.aspx |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214023205/http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/recovery/peer_workers.aspx |archive-date=2013-02-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and in consumer-operated services programs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cosp.mimhtraining.com/final-report-10-chapters-appendices/ |title=Campbell, J. ''The Consumer-Operated Services Program (COSP) Multisite study,'' Missouri Institute of Mental Health, St. Louis, 2010. |access-date=2013-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113111930/http://cosp.mimhtraining.com/final-report-10-chapters-appendices/ |archive-date=2014-01-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Psychiatric survivors movement|Consumers/clients]] of mental health programs have also formed non-profit [[self-help groups|self-help]] organizations,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Ochocka | first1 = J. | last2 = Janzen | first2 = R. | last3 = Nelson | first3 = G. | year = 2002 | title = Sharing Power and Knowledge: Professional and Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Researchers Working Together in a Participatory Action Research Project | journal = Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal | volume = 25 | issue = 4| pages = 379–87 | doi = 10.1037/h0094999 | pmid = 12013266 | url = http://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=psyc_faculty }}</ref> and serve to support each other and to challenge associated [[Social stigma|stigma]] and discrimination.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mentalhealthpeers.com/pdfs/PeerSupportUnique.pdf |title=Shery Mead and Cheryl MacNeil, "Peer Support: What Makes It Unique?", December 2004. |access-date=2010-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124214755/http://mentalhealthpeers.com/pdfs/PeerSupportUnique.pdf |archive-date=2010-11-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Davidson | first1 = I. | last2 = Chinman | last3 = Kloos | first3 = B. | last4 = Weingarten | first4 = R. | last5 = Stayner | first5 = D. A. | last6 = Tebes | first6 = J. K. | year = 1999 | title = Peer support among individuals with severe mental illness: A review of the evidence | journal = Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice | volume = 6 | issue = 2| pages = 165–187 | doi = 10.1093/clipsy.6.2.165 }}</ref> The role of peer workers in mental health services was the subject of a conference in London in April 2012, jointly organized by the [[Centre for Mental Health]] and the NHS Confederation.<ref>http://www.nhsconfed.org/Networks/MentalHealth/events/recent_events/Pages/mh-peer-support.aspx. {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref> Research has shown that peer-run self-help groups yield improvement in psychiatric symptoms resulting in decreased hospitalization, larger social support networks and enhanced [[self-esteem]] and social functioning.<ref>[http://www.dbsalliance.org/site/PageServer?pagename=research_advances "Peer Support Research: A Promising New Approach."]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.consumerstar.org/pubs/Emerging%20New%20Practices%20in%20Oraganized%20Peer%20Support.pdf |title=Jean Campbell and Judy Leaver, "Emerging New Practices in Organized Peer Support," National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) and the National Technical Assistance Center for State Mental Health Planning (NTAC), March 2003, p. 17. |access-date=2010-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211012110/http://www.consumerstar.org/pubs/Emerging%20New%20Practices%20in%20Oraganized%20Peer%20Support.pdf |archive-date=2009-12-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> There is considerable variety in the ways that peer support is defined and conceptualized as it relates to mental health services. In some cases, clinicians, psychiatrists, and other staff who do not necessarily have their own experiences of receiving psychiatric treatment are being trained, often by [[Psychiatric survivors movement|psychiatric survivors]], in peer support as an approach to building relationships that are genuine, mutual, and non-coercive.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Home Content|url = http://www.intentionalpeersupport.org|website = Intentional Peer Support|access-date = 2015-11-11}}</ref>