Engaging peer consultants in mental health services: Narrative research

The text deals with the specifics of the new job position of peer consultant in mental health services. The aim is to describe, through a literature search, the involvement of people with mental illness in the position of peer consultant in social services and to identify possible ethical aspects associated with this position.

The problem is viewed from the perspective of the service provider. The involvement of people with experience of mental illness (so-called peer consultants) in mental health services is still a little-known issue. These individuals use their experience of the disease to work with service users and can also act as intermediaries between users and professionals. The way a peer consultant works and his involvement in a team of experts can cause various ethical contradictions.

To clarify the issue, a literature search was used, which was conducted for the period 2012 to 2020. Selected studies were analysed on the basis of focus and presented a connection with the practice, the results were compared. Findings were synthesized according to ethical attributes into categories and conclusions were drawn by subsequent logical deduction.

The results indicate a positive benefit of introducing the position to social services focused on mental health care. The positive impact is manifested in working with service user, in the functioning of the organization and also in the impact on the community. Successful implementation of the peer consultant position requires managers to prepare well and become familiar with the possible ethical aspects associated with the position.