The growth of peer support: an international charter.

Objective: While mental health peer support originated in its contemporary form in English-speaking countries, it is now spreading rapidly across the globe. This rapid growth presents two major challenges. The first pertains to "role integrity" and the second to the possible culture-bound nature of peer support; a concern which has attended the emergence of peer support in countries that have significantly different worldviews.Method: Recognizing the growth of peer support and the resulting challenges, this report results from the convening of an international consortium of peer leaders from six continents (all but Antarctica). Following an environmental scan of the state of peer support globally, this group moved to develop consensus on a common, core set of guiding principles and values to ensure a robust future for the development of effective, culturally responsive forms of peer support.Findings: Key principles, values and practices considered essential to peer support are presented.Conclusions and implications for practice: Assuming that sufficient political and community support are generated, there can be considerable enthusiasm for the expansion of peer support around the globe. Peer leaders are encouraged, however, to develop and deliver peer support both with integrity to its founding values in a civil rights and social justice framework and with responsiveness to local cultural worldviews.

The peer support workforce: Results of a national survey.

OBJECTIVE: Given the burgeoning role of peer specialists in the mental health workforce, more information is needed about their work roles, tasks, settings, training, compensation, and work satisfaction. METHOD: Using both purposive and snowball sampling, the authors recruited a national sample of individuals employed as peer specialists and a variety of other peer provider positions. They conducted an online survey to query respondents about various aspects of their work life. A total of 608 participants completed the survey, of which 597 responses were usable for these analyses. RESULTS: Results suggest that individuals in the United States identifying themselves as peer specialists (or similar titles) work in a wide variety of settings and spend the majority of their work time providing direct peer support. However, a significant number of individuals also reported performing nondirect peer support tasks such as administrative work, teaching skills, and systems-level advocacy. Average compensation ranged from $10 to $20 per hour. Peer specialists reported a significant amount of satisfaction with their work but still perceive a lack of recognition for their roles. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Results of this survey provide critical information about the job characteristics of peer specialists and data that should be informative for mental health authorities as they address the needs of this workforce. However, our findings also suggest that ambiguity remains regarding the roles, tasks, and training of peer specialists, which could benefit from further study that would help to clarify the unique role of these professionals within the mental health arena. (PsycINFO Database Record

[Peers as fellow workers: understanding and respecting their roles]. / Pares como compañeros de trabajo: entendiendo y respetando sus funciones.

The literature reveals that peer support in mental health services is growing around the world. In the context of peer support, a "peer" is a person with lived experienced of mental illness and choose to share his or her recovery experience in an effective manner. However, tensions between traditional mental health professionals and peer supporters have arisen in the U.S. as what are the roles of peers within mental health systems. This article aims to review the integration of peers in the existing mental health systems, the values of peer support and to discuss training implications.

Pares como compañeros de trabajo: entendiendo y respetando sus funciones / [Peers as fellow workers: understanding and respecting their roles].

The literature reveals that peer support in mental health services is growing around the world. In the context of peer support, a "peer" is a person with lived experienced of mental illness and choose to share his or her recovery experience in an effective manner. However, tensions between traditional mental health professionals and peer supporters have arisen in the U.S. as what are the roles of peers within mental health systems. This article aims to review the integration of peers in the existing mental health systems, the values of peer support and to discuss training implications.

Pares como compañeros de trabajo: entendiendo y respetando sus funciones. / [Peers as fellow workers: understanding and respecting their roles].

The literature reveals that peer support in mental health services is growing around the world. In the context of peer support, a "peer" is a person with lived experienced of mental illness and choose to share his or her recovery experience in an effective manner. However, tensions between traditional mental health professionals and peer supporters have arisen in the U.S. as what are the roles of peers within mental health systems. This article aims to review the integration of peers in the existing mental health systems, the values of peer support and to discuss training implications.