Peer Involvement and Leadership in Early Intervention in Psychosis Services: From Planning to Peer Support and Evaluation
Technical Assistance Material Developed for SAMHSA/CMHS
The goal of this guide is to provide a range of different stakeholders with information and best practices for peer support and leadership in early intervention for psychosis (EIP) services. Audiences that may find this manual to be useful include state-level administrators, clinical directors, peer and family advocates, young people, and early intervention planning committee members, as well as researchers and others with an interest in youth and peer involvement. This document includes many concrete examples of exemplary or innovative services, projects and individuals (see “spotlights”), and a comprehensive appendix of resources is offered at the end of the guide. Unlike many other U.S. peer support manuals, the aim of this guide is to provide coverage of a broad range of domains in which peers might assume leadership or advisory roles. These include program development and planning, direct service delivery (including peer support), public outreach and engagement, clinician education, and quality improvement and evaluation.
“It bothers me when I hear people talk about hiring peers for only certain types of jobs, whether they be entry-level clerical support or peer-specific direct service positions that are considered to be “treatment extenders” – low-cost supplements to “real” services. I think peers have a great deal to contribute as members of the mental health workforce and I hope that employers are looking at persons with lived experience for the whole range of “regular” staff positions, so ‘peers’ can bring to those positions the valuable perspective of lived experience, as well as the other talents they have that qualify them for any position. At our agency, all our posted job openings explicitly state, “people with experience of mental health recovery are encouraged to apply,” and peers fill the whole range of positions, from program directors to team leaders to outreach workers to employment specialists. Some work in our specifically peer-run program (which has a value all its own), but many others work at all levels, in administrative and clinical jobs, throughout the agency.”
—Sheila O’Neill, LCSW
Thresholds Inc.