Peer support

Peer support occurs when people provide knowledge, experience, emotional, social or practical help to each other. It commonly refers to an initiative consisting of trained supporters, and can take a number of forms such as Peer mentoring, listening, or counseling. Peer support is also used to refer to initiatives where colleagues, members of self help organizations and others meet as equals to give each other support on a reciprocal basis. Peer in this case is taken to imply that each person has no more expertise as a supporter than the other and the relationship is one of equality.

A peer has "been there, done that" and can relate to others who are now in a similar situation. Most often, these professionals are required to obtain Continuing Education Units, like all other clinical staff.

Underlying theory
The effectiveness of peer support is believed to derive from a variety of psychosocial processes described best by Phyllis Solomon in 2004 : social support, experiential knowledge, social learning theory, social comparison theory and the helper-therapy principle.


 * Social support is the existence of positive psychosocial interactions with others with whom there is mutual trust and concern . Positive relationships contribute to positive adjustment and buffer against stressors and adversities by offering emotional support (esteem, attachment, and reassurance), instrumental support (material goods and services); and information support (advice, guidance, and feedback).


 * Experiential knowledge is specialized information and perspectives that people obtain from living through a particular experience such as substance abuse, a physical disability, chronic physical or mental illness, or a traumatic event such as military combat, a natural disaster, domestic violence, sexual abuse, or imprisonment. Experiential knowledge tends to be unique and pragmatic and when shared contributes to solving problems and improving quality of life.


 * Social learning theory postulates that peers, because they have undergone and survived relevant experiences, are more credible role models for others. Interactions with peers who are successfully coping with their experiences or illness are more likely to result in positive behavior change.


 * Social comparison means that individuals are more comfortable interacting with others who share common characteristics with themselves, such as a psychiatric illness, in order to establish a sense of normalcy. By interacting with others who are perceived to be better than them, peers are given a sense of optimism and something to strive toward.


 * The helper-therapy principle proposes that there are four significant benefits to those who provide peer support : (a) increased sense of interpersonal competence as a result of making an impact on another person's life; (b) development of a sense of equality in giving and taking between himself or herself and others; (c) helper gains new personally-relevant knowledge while helping; and (d) the helper receives social approval from the person they help, and others.

Peer mentoring
Peer mentoring takes place in learning environments such as schools, usually between an older more experienced student and a new student. Peer mentors appear mainly in secondary schools where students moving up from Junior/Primary schools may need assistance in settling in at the whole new schedule and lifestyle of secondary school life.

Peer listening
This form of peer support is widely used within schools. Peer supporters are trained, normally from within schools or universities, or sometimes by outside organizations, such as Childline's CHIPS (Childline In Partnership With Schools) program, to be "active listeners". Within schools, peer-supporters are normally available at break or lunch times.

Peer mediation
Peer mediation is a means of handling incidents of bullying by bringing the victim and the bully together under mediation by one of their peers.

Peer helper in sports
A peer helper in sports works with young adults in sports such as football, soccer, track, volleyball, baseball, cheerleading, swimming, and basketball. They may provide help with game tactics (e.g. keeping your eye on the ball), emotional support, training support, and social support.

Peer support in mental health
Consumers/clients of mental health programs group together to form non-profit organizations, and serve to support each other and to challenge associated stigma and discrimination. Organizations that offer peer support services for people with mental health problems include Fountain House, Emotions Anonymous, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), GROW, and Recovery International. Research has shown that peer-run self-help groups yield improvement in psychiatric symptoms resulting in decreased hospitalization, larger social support networks and enhanced self-esteem and social functioning.

Peer support programs have also been implemented to address stress and trauma among law enforcement personnel and firefighters. Peer support is an important component of the Critical incident stress management program used to alleviate stress and trauma among disaster first responders.

Peer support for survivors of trauma
Peer counseling has been used to help survivors of trauma, such as refugees, cope with stress and deal with difficult living conditions. Peer support is integral to the services provided by the National Center for Trauma-Informed Care. Other programs have been designed for female victims of domestic violence and for women in prison.

Peer support for veterans and their families
Several programs exist that provide peer support for military veterans in the US and Canada.

The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) provides peer support, crisis care, casualty casework assistance, and grief and trauma resources for families of members of the US military.

Peer support in addiction
Twelve-step programs for overcoming substance misuse are often based on peer support. Alcoholics Anonymous promotes peer support between new members and their sponsors: "The process of sponsorship is this: an alcoholic who has made some progress in the recovery program shares that experience on a continuous, individual basis with another alcoholic who is attempting to attain or maintain sobriety through AA ."

Peer support in chronic illness
Peer support has been beneficial for many people living with diabetes. Diabetes encompasses all aspects of people's lives, often for decades. Support from peers can offer emotional, social, and practical assistance that helps people do the things they need to do to stay healthy. Peer support complements and enhances other health care services.

Peer support has also been provided for people with cancer and HIV. The Breast Cancer Network of Strength trains peer counselors to work with breast cancer survivors.

Peer support for people with disabilities
Peer support has been widely used by organizations that work with people with disabilities, including the Amputee Coalition of America and Survivor Corps. Since 1998 the ACA has operated a National Peer Network for survivors of limb loss.

Survivor Corps defines peer support for trauma survivors as "Encouragement and assistance provided by a colleague who has overcome similar difficulties to engender self-confidence and autonomy and enable the survivor to make his or her own decisions and to implement them ." Peer support is a fundamental strategy in the rehabilitation of landmine survivors.