peer support — Articles & Media

Predictors of worklife burnout among mental health certified peer specialists

This study uses survey data from certified peer specialists (CPS) who were currently employed in any type of job, providing peer support services or not. Using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS), along with other measures of personal and job characteristics, relationships of predictors variables to burnout measures were described in unadjusted and adjusted linear regression models. Scores on each of the averaged burnout measures differed significantly between those employed in peer services jobs and those in other job types, with those in peer services jobs reporting lower exhaustion, cynicism, and higher professional efficacy.

Journal ArticleLaysha OstrowSeptember 2, 2022peer certfiication, workplace, peer support, employment, research

Progress Made, but Much More to Be Done

This chapter provides an overview of what can be done in the future to address the prevention and control of mental and behavioral disorders. It begins with a description of what has come before, examining progress and pitfalls. This is followed by a discussion of the evolution needed to bring about Winslow's vision of mental health care as an integral part of the public health. It examines the growing role of such factors as the social determinants of health; attention to the full spectrum of mental health and illness from prevention through recovery across the life span; the importance of resilience in preventing behavioral problems; the still evolving key role of consumers in treatment and recovery; and the policy changes needed to embrace mental health as an intrinsic part of the public health.

Journal ArticleLaysha OstrowJuly 16, 2021federal policy, state policy, peer support, healthcare

Peer interviewers in mental health services research

The paper describes how peer interviewers were recruited, hired, trained, and supervised. The authors discuss some benefits and challenges associated with the approach. Peer interviewer benefits and challenges: the shared lived experience between the peer interviewers and study participants contributed to increased comfort and a high response rate overall. The study opened up professional opportunities for peers, but inconsistent work hours were a challenge and resulted in turnover and difficulty filling vacant positions. The lead evaluator and supervisors worked closely with peer interviewers to ensure conflict of interest was mitigated to reduce bias.

Recovery in the USA: From politics to peer support

The recovery movement has evolved from a more radical view in the early days, to participatory involvement in systems, to returning to alternative models of care that are more independent. Now as more peer specialists work in systems, there is an increased emphasis on non-medical alternatives and the cycle continues. Regardless, recovery, self-determination, choice, etc. are always at the centre. This paper notes the interesting cycles of recovery-orientation and how they spin around the values/tenets of the movement’s early roots.

Journal ArticleLaysha OstrowJuly 16, 2021commentary, peer support, federal policy

HOPE Program Self-Evaluation Report

Two research companies, Live & Learn Inc. and Human Services Research Institute, worked with HOPE (Helping Our Peers Emerge) staff to conduct an evaluation to understand and report the impact of the HOPE program on participants, in addition to Whole Person Pilot-required data. HOPE is a peer-run program in San Mateo, California. HOPE supports Peer Participants in transition from psychiatric hospitalization to community integration through Peer Mentoring, Family Partnership, and Supportive Employment Coordination. It was created as a Whole Person Pilot program under California's Medicaid Section 1115 waiver.

ReportsLaysha OstrowJuly 15, 2021peer support, evaluation, California, peer-run organizations

#LivedExperience Research: CPS Career Outcomes Study

Erika Miranda-Bartlett, Outreach Specialist with Live & Learn, Inc., discusses what brought her to the Certified Peer Specialist Career Outcomes Study and what it means to her.

VideoLaysha OstrowJuly 13, 2021peer support, peer certfiication, participatory research

Peer Respites: A Research and Practice Agenda

Peer respites are voluntary, short-term residential programs designed to support individuals experiencing or at risk of a psychiatric crisis. These programs posit that for many mental health services users, traditional psychiatric emergency department and inpatient hospital services are undesirable and avoidable when less coercive or intrusive community-based supports are available. Intended to provide a safe and homelike environment, peer respites are usually situated in residential neighborhoods. These programs are starting to spread across the United States, yet there is very little rigorous research on whether they are being implemented consistently across sites and which processes and outcomes may lead to benefits for persons experiencing psychiatric crises and for overburdened mental health systems. This Open Forum outlines implementation and research issues that peer respites face.

Journal ArticleLaysha OstrowJuly 13, 2021peer respite, peer support, commentary

Attitudes of Mental Health Peer-Run Organizations Towards Health Homes: Recommendations for Policy and Practice

This study examined peer-run organizations’ attitudes towards collaborating in health homes. Data were drawn from the 2012 National Survey of Peer-Run Organizations. Multinomial logistic regression modeled the association between organizational willingness to participate in a health home and salient factors. Current efforts, planned efforts to encourage physical healthcare, and staff size were associated with willingness to collaborate in health homes. Some organizations were concerned about power dynamics with potential medical collaborators. Relationships with medical providers, staffing capacity, and concerns about coercion should be considered when integrating peer-run organizations and health homes.

Journal ArticleLaysha OstrowJuly 13, 2021peer support, peer-run organizations, research, healthcare

Self-Reliance and Belonging: Guest Experiences of a Peer Respite

Peer respites strengthen self-reliance and social connectedness and offer a viable alternative to traditional crisis services for some people some of the time. The results suggest potential “key ingredients” for peer respites, including a homelike environment, voluntary and self-determined supports, and peer support staff who possess the capacity for developing healing and genuine connections with guests while also promoting shared responsibility and self-reliance. Future research should further develop this theory of change and establish peer respite fidelity criteria based on program elements that seem to contribute to positive outcomes.

Journal ArticleLaysha OstrowJuly 13, 2021peer support, research, peer respite

Development and properties of a measure designed to assess core competencies in intentional peer support.

This research study developed a measure to look at service users’ experience of IPS. The IPSCC scale was found to address three underlying factors: Connection, Risk, and Communication. It had acceptable measurement properties commonly used in scale development, and the results fit with theories of peer support. It can also be used in research studies on other forms of peer support. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Journal ArticleLaysha OstrowJuly 13, 2021peer support, research, research methods

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