My Space, Your Space, Our Space: Exploring the Potential of Collaborative Group Facilitation Between Therapists and Peer Workers in Mental Health Settings

Peer Workers in Co-production and Co-creation in Mental Health and Substance Use Services: A Scoping Review

“…We also identified that while peer workers were often described as working in one-on-one contact with service users, they performed activities targeting groups of service users (Hillman et al, 2022 ; Kumar et al, 2019 ; McCarthy et al, 2019 ; Nossek et al, 2021 ) or professionals (Agrawal et al, 2016 ; Chisholm & Petrakis, 2020 ). In total, 40 studies explicitly described peer workers in activities involving groups of actors, which were aimed at increasing the personal benefits of service users.…”

“…Commonly, the studies described peer workers as bridges (Burke et al, 2018 ; Byrne et al, 2018 ; Cleary et al, 2018 ; Hillman et al, 2022 ; MacLellan et al, 2017 ) and individuals who facilitate connecting (Clossey et al, 2018 ; Harris et al, 2020 ; Van Zanden & Bliokas, 2021 ; Weir et al, 2019 ; Zeng & Chung, 2019 ), linking (Byrne et al, 2021b ; Jacobson et al, 2012 ; Martin et al, 2021 ; Otte et al, 2019 ; Scanlan et al, 2017 ), and navigating (Aminawung et al, 2021 ; Barrenger & Hamovitch, 2019 ; Brasier et al, 2022 ; Chisholm & Petrakis, 2020 ; Corrigan et al, 2017 ) and who function as advocates (Byrne et al, 2017 ; Ehrlich et al, 2020 ; Eisen et al, 2015 ; Scanlan et al, 2020 ; Wyder et al, 2020 ). Consequently, peer workers expand service users’ access to resources and increase their involvement with the service system.…”

Lived experience of peer‐clinician collaboration in a mental health service

“…To the best of our knowledge, this way of working is unique and has not yet been described in the published literature. One article described a collaborative approach between a music therapist and a peer worker, however, this was based in a group therapy setting (Hillman et al 2022). From the lived experience accounts of this collaborative way of working, several key points have emerged that must be considered.…”

“…Peer workers are uniquely positioned to develop relationships with individuals accessing mental health services that are characterized by shared experiences and intentional self‐disclosure which can provide hope and model recovery (Gillard 2019; Hillman et al . 2022). Being able to inspire hope for recovery and the ability to employ empathy and insight from their lived experience is an important quality of peer workers (Chisholm & Petrakis 2020; Shalaby & Agyapong 2020).…”

“…Collaboration between mental health clinicians and peer workers is likely to improve recovery-oriented care (Cleary et al 2018), however, there is a paucity of literature describing a collaborative approach between mental health professionals and peer workers. Hillman et al (2022) provide an account of collaborative group facilitation between a music therapist and a peer worker in a mental health service. They highlighted the importance of clearly defined roles and responsibilities, sharing power, stretching boundaries, and open communication in order for collaborative work to be successful.…”