Evidence: Peer support can improve hope, empowerment, and quality of life
An increasing body of international research points to the benefit of peer support in contributing to individual feelings, beliefs, and skills that enable people to recover and flourish.
Several research articles explore peer support in different contexts that speak to the impact that it has had on people, through validating their experiences and giving them hope for the future. For example, Barr et al (2020) found that the use of peer support workers to share their experiences with people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in Australia helped to validate experiences, bring connection, and inspire hope for the future.
Other studies also discuss the value of peer support workers in supporting the accessibility of mental health services in rural settings (Cheesmond et al, 2020) and the capability of emergency departments to address the needs of people with lived experience (Brasier et al, 2022).
Both Gaiser et al (2021) and Fortuna et al (2022) concluded that the body of evidence gives confidence that peer support contributes to improvement in self-esteem, resilience, empowerment, and engagement in ‘self-management’. In addition, it helps increase measures of quality of life and general satisfaction.
The use of Polyvagal Theory was discussed back in 2014, as an explanation of thereapeutic presence in therapy – which, as we know, is the single most important aspect of therapy. As Peer Workers, we draw on our own lived experience to form a trusted therapeutic relationship.