Consumers as community support providers: issues created by role innovation

Area of Science:

• Mental Health Services Research
• Vocational Rehabilitation
• Consumer-Operated Services

Background:

• Case management teams often serve individuals with serious mental illness (SMI).
• Expanding vocational services can improve outcomes for individuals with SMI.
• Integrating consumers as peer support specialists is an innovative approach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the issues, roles, and benefits of employing consumers as peer support specialists in a vocational services project for individuals with SMI.
• To analyze the challenges faced by peer support specialists in relation to serving peers, position structure, the mental health system, community factors, and personal issues.
• To discuss implications for defining consumer roles, supporting role effectiveness, and structuring peer support positions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from a CSP-funded research demonstration project.
• Analyzed roles and benefits of peer support specialist positions.
• Examined challenges through focus groups with specialists and analysis of the project's management information system.

Main Results:

• Peer support specialists provide valuable roles and benefits within vocational services for individuals with SMI.
• Challenges encountered by specialists include serving peers, structural issues, systemic barriers, community factors, and personal difficulties.
• The integration of peer support specialists requires careful consideration of role definition and support mechanisms.

Conclusions:

• The findings highlight the complexities and potential of peer support roles in mental health vocational services.
• Recommendations are provided for defining consumer roles, enhancing support for peer specialists, and optimizing the structure of these positions.
• Effective implementation requires addressing systemic and individual challenges to maximize the benefits of peer support for individuals with serious mental illness.