The Experiences of Youth Mental Health Peer Workers over Time: A Qualitative Study with Longitudinal Analysis

Simmons, Magenta; Grace, Dawson; Fava, Nicholas; Coates, Dominiek; Dimopoulos-Bick, Tara; Batchelor, Samantha; Howe, Deb; Montague, Alice

doi:10.1007/s10597-020-00554-2

Cited by 27 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…These findings concur with other evaluations of peer implementation projects (Simmons et al, 2020 (Halpin, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…The major difficulty for implementation appears to be the way in which peer work is integrated into existing teams, requiring a shift in clinical practice, including the use of recovery focused language and an appreciation for the wisdom of lived experience which extends beyond the tokenistic, or "add on" model and incorporates genuine attitudinal change. Such attitudinal or cultural change is slow (Simmons et al, 2020) and requires sustained effort and input from all elements of the service, including senior management, clinical staff and the youth peer workers themselves. The evaluation showed that the youth peer workers were largely welcomed into the service on a personal level, and attitudes towards peer workers as individuals reflect an improvement over time (through measures such as whether peer workers can be trusted with confidential information and should be paid for their time).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mental health services around the world are undertaking a turn toward peer support as an integral part of client-focused, recovery-oriented mental health services (Malla et al, 2016), where peer work is understood to refer to a professional role within services occupied by workers who "apply their personal lived experience of mental illness and recovery in supporting consumers" (PHN, 2018). Countries such as Australia (Simmons et al, 2020), Canada (Hawke et al, 2019), the United Kingdom (Repper and Carter, 2011), the United States (Ansell and Insley, 2013;Butman, 2009;Gopalan et al, 2017) and Ireland (Illback et al, 2010) are all moving towards youth mental health care models which incorporate the lived experience perspective through the employment of peer support workers. In practice, however, comparatively little is known regarding the effective implementation of peer support within clinical services, and even more so in youth focused services.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Implementing youth peer support in an early psychosis program

Hopkins

Pedwell

Wilson

et al. 2020

JMHTEP

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Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify and understand the barriers and enablers to the implementation of youth peer support in a clinical mental health service. The development of a lived experience workforce in mental health is a key component of policy at both the state and the federal level in Australia. Implementing a peer workforce within existing clinical services, however, can be a challenging task. Furthermore, implementing peer support in a youth mental health setting involves a further degree of complexity, involving a degree of care for young people being invited to provide peer support when they may be still early in their own recovery journey. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on a formative evaluation of the beginning stages of implementation of a youth peer workforce within an existing clinical mental health service in Melbourne. Findings The project found that it was feasible and beneficial to implement youth peer support; however, significant challenges remain, including lack of appropriate training for young people, uncertainty amongst clinical staff about the boundaries of the peer role and the potential for “tokenism” in the face of slow cultural change across the whole service. Originality/value Very little evaluation has yet been undertaken into the effectiveness of implementing peer support in youth mental health services. This paper offers an opportunity to investigate where services may need to identify strengths and address difficulties when undertaking future implementation efforts.

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“…These findings concur with other evaluations of peer implementation projects (Simmons et al, 2020 (Halpin, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Implementing youth peer support in an early psychosis program

Hopkins

Pedwell

Wilson

et al. 2020

JMHTEP

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“…[2][3][4] These newly minted mental health professionals were eventually integrated into a number of services in various mental healthcare settings, such as to support people with mental health conditions 5 , severe mental illnesses 4 6 and substance use issues. 7 Systematic reviews [8][9][10][11][12] supported these individual findings and demonstrated the effectiveness of integrating peer support workers into larger care teams. As a result of the benefit they bring to multidisciplinary care models, they have been integrated into community mental health teams 13 14 and supported employment teams 15 , where their presence is counted towards increased programme fidelity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Barriers and facilitators of peer support work in a large psychiatric hospital: a thematic analysis

2021

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BackgroundPeer support workers are an important addition to the mental healthcare profession. However, much of the literature and knowledge of the peer support role is derived from western countries. This concept is relatively new in Asian countries.AimsThe study sought to improve the understanding of the barriers and facilitators of peer support work in a large psychiatric hospital in Singapore.MethodsThis study used qualitative data from a larger mixed-methods study. Thematic analysis was conducted based on the five steps recommended by Braun and Clarke (2006): (1) familiarisation of data whereby transcripts were read and reread, (2) generating initial codes, (3) searching for themes by gathering relevant codes, (4) reviewing themes and (5) defining and naming themes.ResultsFour subthemes under the broader notion of facilitators (supportive figures, defined role, opportunities for personal growth and identifying personalised coping strategies) and three subthemes under the concept of barriers (unclear role, hostility from non-peer-support-specialist staff and unsupportive working environments) were identified.ConclusionOur findings echoed those of previous studies conducted in western countries providing some evidences for the cross-cultural nature of these barriers and facilitators. However, the way their impact can be mitigated or enhanced is likely to be different owing to cultural barriers, such as the general consensus and acceptance of larger personal recovery ideologies. Further research is required in community settings to better understand the boundaries and limitations of our findings. This information will allow us to continue improving peer support worker integration in diverse mental healthcare settings.

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“…They can have enhanced credibility with youth and possess an ability to serve as role models for resilience/recovery (Coates & Howe, 2014;Howe, Batchelor, & Bochynska, 2011;Swanton, Collin, Burns, & Sorensen, 2007). Peer specialists report that their most important roles involve developing relationships with clients, and both peer specialists and clients report that shared lived experience is a key element in establishing those bonds (Cabral, Strother, Muhr, Sefton, & Savageau, 2014;Simmons et al, 2020). Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of peer support among adults have come to differing conclusions (Davidson, Bellamy, Guy, & Miller, 2012;Lloyd-Evans et al, 2014;Reif et al, 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Roles of peer specialists and use of mental health services among youth with serious mental illness

Ojeda

Jones

Munson

et al. 2020

Early Intervention Psych

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Aim: To examine whether roles of peer specialists affect service use among Black, Latinx and White youth ages 16-24 with serious mental illness (SMI) in Los Angeles and San Diego Counties.Methods: Administrative data from 2015 to 2018 was used to summarize service use among 6329 transition age youth age 16-24 with SMI who received services from 76 outpatient public mental health programs with peer specialists on staff. Roles of peer specialists were assessed via a program survey. Generalized linear models were used to assess the relationship between peer specialist characteristics and service use outcomes (ie, outpatient and inpatient).Results: Having a transition age youth peer specialist on staff (vs older peer specialists) and having peer specialists that provide four or more services (vs fewer services) was associated with an increase in annual outpatient visits in both counties (P = <.001 each). In Los Angeles County, having three or more peer specialist trainings (vs fewer trainings) was associated with lower use of inpatient services (P < .001). In San Diego County, having a transition age youth peer specialist and peer specialists that provide four or more services was associated with lower use of inpatient services (P < .001 each).Conclusions: Types of peer support and number of types of peer services were associated with mental health service utilization. Detailed examination of the roles of peer specialists is merited to identify the specific pathways that improve outcomes.

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The Experiences of Youth Mental Health Peer Workers over Time: A Qualitative Study with Longitudinal Analysis

Cited by 27 publications

References 18 publications

Implementing youth peer support in an early psychosis program

Implementing youth peer support in an early psychosis program

Barriers and facilitators of peer support work in a large psychiatric hospital: a thematic analysis

Roles of peer specialists and use of mental health services among youth with serious mental illness

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