Philosophy

Nearly two decades ago The Final Report of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (The Commission) was published, clearly articulated the vision that all persons with mental illnesses can recover. Based on that vision, The Commission called for transformation of the current mental health system toward a system with supports and services designed to facilitate recovery and build resilience for persons with mental illnesses. This historic national pronouncement represents a significant shift from the long-held mindset that people with serious mental illnesses do not recover. The Commission published a definition of recovery in their Final Report, strongly emphasizing that it is a “process in which people are able to live, work, learn and participate fully in their communities.”

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The National Consensus Statement on Mental Health Recovery, released in 2005, defines recovery as “a journey of healing and transformation” that enables a person “to live a meaningful life in communities of his or her choice while striving to achieve full human potential.” Although persons with mental illnesses must take personal responsibility to achieve success in this journey toward recovery multiple supports and systems can greatly assist them by promoting and/or facilitating this recovery. For this reason, the federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) declared that its foundational mission is “to build resilience and facilitate recovery” for persons with mental health problems or substance use disorders. (For more information, see “About SAMHSA” at www.samhsa.gov).

To effectively achieve this Mission, as stated in Recommendation 2.2 of the Commission’s Final Report, we are called upon to “Involve consumers and families in fully orienting the mental health system toward recovery.” The Report further emphasizes that “Recovery-oriented services and supports are often successfully provided by consumers who work as providers in a variety of settings, such as peer support and psychosocial rehabilitation programs. ”

Peers who work as trained professionals help to expand the range and availability of services and support that are available. “Studies show that consumer-providers can broaden access to peer support, engage more individuals in traditional mental health services, and serve as a resource in the recovery of people with psychiatric diagnoses. Because of their experiences, consumer-providers bring different attitudes, motivations, insights and behavioral qualities to the treatment encounter” (New Freedom Commission, 2003, p.37).

The discussion of Recommendation 2.2 concludes with the following statement: “Consequently, consumers should be involved in a variety of appropriate service and support settings” (New Freedom Commission, 2003, p. 37).

Peer support provides a wide variety of benefits. These benefits are confirmed and explained by scientific investigation and studies.

Overall, studies have found that peer support: • Decreases morbidity and mortality rates • Increases life expectancy • Increases knowledge of a disease • Improves self-efficacy • Improves self-reported health status and self-care skills, including medication adherence • Reduces use of emergency services

Additionally, providers of peer support report less depression, heightened self-esteem and selfefficacy, and improved quality of life.

The belief that recovery is possible for all who experience psychiatric, traumatic, or substance use challenges is fundamental to the practice of peer support. The likelihood of long-term recovery is increased with effective support. Peer support has been demonstrated through research and practical application to be highly effective.

Along with the SAMHSA Working Definition and Guiding Principles of Recovery, the following core values have been ratified by peer supporters across the country as the core ethical guidelines for peer support practice, and are well aligned with the ethos and Prevail Code of Ethics: 1. Peer support is person-driven 2. Peer supporters are hopeful 3. Peer supporters are open-minded 4. Peer supporters are empathetic 5. Peer supporters are respectful 6. Peer supporters facilitate change 7. Peer supporters are honest and direct 8. Peer support is mutual and reciprocal 9. Peer support is strengths-focused 10. Peer support is transparent

Research reveals that peer support can be valuable to those overcoming mental health and substance addiction challenges. Thousands of peers have been trained and are working in a wide variety of settings.

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