The Impact of Certified Peer Specialists as Teachers to Families

Certified peer specialists (CPSs) are providers with lived experience of mental health conditions who have received specialized training to support the recovery of others with mental health conditions. This study examined the role of CPSs as educators of families and loved ones. Peer specialists joined established family support groups to provide education to family and loved ones. These educational sessions included sharing recovery stories and engaging in interactive question-and-answer sessions. Family members who participated in these sessions were invited to complete voluntary surveys designed to assess the impact of the CPS-led sessions. Forty-two participants responded across six sessions. On quantitative items, participants rated overall session quality as high and indicated that CPS-led sessions improved their understanding of the experience of mental health conditions, strengthened their belief in recovery, and increased their knowledge of how to support a loved one with a mental health condition. Thematic analysis of open-ended responses indicated that participants joined these sessions to gain a better understanding of CPS work, improve strategies to help loved ones, build community, and foster personal connections. More than half of participants reported gaining skills and resources from the program. This work adds to the literature supporting peer specialists in educational roles, including as educators of mental health providers across numerous disciplines. To our knowledge, this is the first report to specifically address the role of CPSs as educators of families, and additional research is needed in this area.