Mental Health Providers Perceptions and Experiences of Peer Support in Youth Mental Health Care

Background: Mental health providers play an integral role in youth mental health services, providing assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental health concerns, and supporting recovery. Evidence shows mental health providers are challenged due to health system limitations and increased demands for services, resulting in long wait times and negatively impacting quality of care. To increase mental health service accessibility and mitigate disengagement of youth from care, some organizations have incorporated peer support as an adjunct to the provision of traditional mental health services. Peer support involves an individual with lived experience (a peer support worker) supporting youth with navigating their recovery journey. The addition of peer support work to youth serving organizations has the potential empower youth to take a more active role in their mental health journey. Objectives and methods: In partnership with ACCESS Open Minds, an Integrated Youth Service (IYS) organization in Canada, 21 staff (including mental health clinicians, nurses, and social workers) participated in qualitative interviews exploring their experiences working alongside Peer Support Workers in an IYS setting. Questions were asked to understand how mental health providers were able to incorporate peer support into their practice and processes, what barriers and facilitators exist to integrating peer support into an IYS setting, and what role mental health providers felt that peer support workers could best play within IYS. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was used to code and theme the interviews. Results: Systems navigation, the generation of hope and providing a broader life perspective were identified as key components of youth peer support work. There were some barriers identified, such as lack of clarity about how to access the service, and a limited number of peer support service hours. Lack of understanding as to how peer support services fit into the IYS was an additional barrier. Facilitators of youth engagement with peer support services included youth feeling increased respect from providers and within the IYS setting, transparency, and increased youth empowerment. Conclusions and learning opportunities: Mental health providers working within Integrated Youth Services require education and guidance on how to incorporate peer support into mental health care for youth. This includes ensuring peer support services are available when needed by youth (e.g. after school), and information is provided that clearly distinguishes peer support work from mental healthcare. Findings from this study can inform best practices regarding integration of peer support into youth mental health services.