Mapping Collaborative Practices Between Occupational Therapists and Peer Supporters in Mental Health: A Scoping Review

Occupational therapists play an important collaborative role in enabling peer supporters to apply experiential knowledge in recovery-oriented practice. Clarifying roles, fostering mutual understanding, and building supportive structures are essential. Plain-Language Summary: This study explored how occupational therapists and peer supporters collaborate in mental health services. Peer supporters are individuals with lived experiences of mental health challenges who support others on their recovery journeys. Occupational therapists are health professionals who help individuals participate in meaningful daily activities and regain structure and identity. When occupational therapists and peer supporters collaborate, they combine clinical and experiential knowledge to support recovery in complementary ways. In this review, we identified several collaboration models including coleading group sessions, peer supporter-led programs with occupational therapist support, and occupational therapist-led programs with peer supporter involvement. This review found that such partnerships can increase confidence, promote community participation, improve daily life, and foster personal growth for service users and peer supporters. Challenges including unclear roles, lack of supervision for peer supporters, and limited organizational support were also reported. Gaining a better understanding of these collaborations may help improve recovery-oriented mental health services.