[Sponsorship by a peer and recovery for persons suffering of a severe psychotic condition]

For people with a mental health disorder, peer support (peer in the sense of people having recovered from such a disorder) is a great therapeutic value. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) were the first to show this therapeutic value. Their approach has several elements of which, aside from the "meetings" and the program of the "12 steps," a major element is the sponsorship of an individual by a peer. Since then, appeared organizations based on peer groups, and this new profession of "peer support helper." In the context of a treatment center for people with severe psychotic disorders for which hope is a key ingredient of recovery. Objectives The paper present a young new program inspired by the AA 12 steps programme based mainly on sponsorship of a client by a peer for person suffering of a psychotic type of disorder. Methods A review of literature about the positive effects of sponsorship by a peer in the AA experience, and a description of the new program, its "meetings," and in particular the ethic code of the participants and its twelves specific steps. Differences between the peer sponsor and the new professional "peer support helper" are presented. Results The program that, since its introduction, starts to give some anecdotic results. A change or organisational responsibility has led to a pause for a research programme. Conclusion For the recovery of a severe psychotic condition, there is no unique way to help and this program is one among others.