Non-peer professionals' understanding of recovery and attitudes towards peer support workers joining existing community mental health teams in the North Denmark Region: A qualitative study

Lerbæk, Birgitte; Johansen, Kirsten; Burholt, Alice Katrine; Gregersen, Line Myrup; Terp, Malene Østergaard; Slade, Mike; Castelein, Stynke; Jørgensen, Rikke

Abstract

Peer support is a collaborative practice where people with lived experience of mental health conditions engage in supporting like‐minded. Peer support impacts on personal recovery and empowerment and creates value at an organisational level. However, the implementation of peer support into existing mental health services is often impeded by barriers embedded in organisational culture and support in role expectations. Non‐peer professionals' recovery orientation and attitudes towards peer support workers (PSWs) are essential factors in the implementation of peer support, and this study explored non‐peer professionals' understanding of recovery and their attitudes towards PSWs joining existing community mental health teams in one region of Denmark. In total, 17 non‐peer professionals participated in three focus groups. Thematic analysis led to three themes: (1) Recovery is a process of “getting better” and balancing personal and clinical perspectives; (2) Realising recovery‐oriented practice: a challenging task with conflicting values; and (3) Expectations and concerns about peer support workers joining the team. Recovery‐oriented practice faces challenging conditions in contemporary mental health services due to a dominant focus on biomedical aspects in care and treatment. Implementation facilitators and barriers in the employment of PSWs point towards fundamental aspects that must be present when employing PSWs in an organisation. The issues described leading up to the employment of PSWs reflected in this study underpin the importance of preparing an organisation for the employment of PSWs based on the available knowledge.

Citation

Lerbæk, B., Johansen, K., Burholt, A. K., Gregersen, L. M., Terp, M. Ø., Slade, M., Castelein, S., & Jørgensen, R. (2024). Non-peer professionals' understanding of recovery and attitudes towards peer support workers joining existing community mental health teams in the North Denmark Region: A qualitative study. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 33(6), 2043-2053. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13349

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 23, 2024
• Online Publication Date: May 20, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-12
• Deposit Date: Apr 25, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: May 20, 2025
• Journal: International Journal of Mental Health Nursing
• Print ISSN: 1445-8330
• Electronic ISSN: 1447-0349
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 33
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 2043-2053
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.13349
• Keywords: Focus groups; Mental health services; Peer support; Recovery; Qualitative research
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/34105290
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/inm.13349
• Additional Information: Received: 2023-12-30; Accepted: 2024-04-23; Published: 2024-05-20