Lean on me: the potential for peer support in a non-government Australian mental health service

Abstract

This paper examines the challenges and opportunities for integrating peer support in mental health. After reviewing the contemporary literature, it considers how the findings of a recent qualitative case study, which examined the perspectives of mental health service users (n = 11) on service-user participation and evidence-based practice, might inform the introduction of a peer support program into a mental health service provided by a large Australian non-government organisation. While there is little empirical evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of peer support, the study revealed that service users valued the expertise of their peers and offered guidance for translating evidence into service models.