This report explores how peer support can help people focus on their assets and abilities, rejecting the standard illness model in favour of a focus on self-efficacy and hope.
… Peer support is a well-tested part of social care, mental health and physical health. At an everyday level, it forms the basic structures of our families, friendships and communities, which practitioners and providers have long understood to be important to health and wellbeing.This approach shifts the focus onto the people and relationships involved in each health and care interaction, and away from institutions, services and processes. It opens up new possibilities for people to take control of their own health, gaining confidence and self-respect through supporting others, improving health outcomes and building stronger social connections through friendships and mutual support.Although not a new concept, peer support is neither systematised nor used at scale in the current healthcare system. This report looks at examples of how others have integrated peer support into routine care, what makes peer support work, and how it can be placed at the centre of a new health service that has people at its heart.This video looks at the value of integrating peer support into routine care.
Authors: Julie Temperley with Peter Baeck, Martha Hampson and Katharine Langford. Series Editor Julie Temperley
Læs mere og find rapport her: People Helping People: Peer support that changes lives | Nesta