The Value of Peer and Family Support
SAMHSA; Paolo del Vecchio, 5/26/2014
There are many studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of peer support. For example, research has demonstrated that peer support helps improve the mental health of veterans, reduces hospital visits for those with co-occurring disorders, and increases coping skills of families with a family member who has a mental illness. Because of studies like these, SAMHSA, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and over 40 states consider peer and family support an evidence-based practice.
Beyond the numbers, stories from real people who have had their lives changed for the better show how critical it can be. Here’s what one man in recovery named Jeff had to say:
In my adult life, I’ve had about nine serious suicide attempts, and I’ve been hospitalized 15 times (two of which were long-term stays). It wasn’t until the mid-80s that I found really positive treatment after I became involved with a peer support group. I learned a lot from my fellow consumers about medications and therapy that could improve the treatment I’d had….I want to share my story in hopes of giving others with psychiatric disabilities the knowledge that they are not alone and there is hope for the future.
SAMHSA supports the development of peer and family support efforts through National Technical Assistance Centers, Consumer and Family Network Grants, Recovery Community Services Program, and the Alternatives Conference
, which is a place where individuals with serious mental illnesses from all over the nation can meet, exchange information and ideas, and provide and receive technical assistance. Peer support services usually operate in conjunction with clinical services that amplify the benefit of treatment by engaging peers in services they might otherwise not accept, offering ongoing support and psychosocial rehabilitation, and encouraging peers to stay in treatment and services by sharing their stories of recovery.
Many peer support services require that they be part of a treatment plan authorized by a “licensed practitioner of the healing arts” such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, or physician in order to be reimbursed by Medicaid under Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rules. Peer support services are a valuable adjunct to traditional care that are known to contribute to improved outcomes in employment, education, housing stability, satisfaction, self-esteem, medication adherence, and decrease in the need for more costly services, such as hospitalizations. Peer-provided services help to foster recovery, increase treatment and service engagement, reduce acute care use, and improve quality of life.
http://blog.samhsa.gov/2014/05/26/the-value-of-peer-and-family-support/#.U4YIl_k3wj5