Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Supporting the Support Network: The Value of Family Peer Work in Youth Mental Health Care

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Community Mental Health Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Reported rates of mental illness continue to climb amongst young Australians. In a family environment the carers of these young people play a highly influential role in their recovery process, however this responsibility can also have significant emotional, financial and health impacts on carers. This paper details the findings of an evaluation project examining the impact and effectiveness of a newly developed and implemented Family Peer Support Work model. Benefits were found which included: family care-givers receiving emotional support and empathy; reduced stress, loneliness, isolation and stigma; bridging between the family and the clinical care team; helping families to navigate through the complexities of the care system; and connecting families to other services. Clarity on role definition for the FPSWs evolved over the course of implementation along with a clearer articulation of the model of care and emergent knowledge on useful elements of training, ongoing professional development, mentoring and wellbeing.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure, web-based application designed to support data capture for research studies, providing (1) an intuitive interface for validated data entry; (2) audit trails for tracking data manipulation and export procedures; (3) automated export procedures for seamless data downloads to common statistical packages; and (4) procedures for importing data from external sources (Harris et al. 2009).

References

  • Acri, M., Hooley, C., Richardson, N., & Moaba, L. (2017). Peer models in mental health for caregivers and families. Community Mental Health Journal, 53(2), 241–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Addington, J., Coldham, E. L., Jones, B., Ko, T., & Addington, D. (2003). The first episode of psychosis: the experience of relatives. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 108, 285–289.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Askey, R., Holmshaw, J., Gamble, C., & Gray, R. (2009). What do carers of people with psychosis need from mental health services? Exploring the views of carers, service users and professionals. Journal of Family Therapy, 31, 310–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: experiments by nature and design. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chien, W.-T., Thompson, D., & Norman, I. (2008). Evaluation of a Peer-led Mutual Support Group for Chinese Families of people with Schizophrenia. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41, 122–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, K., Gray, M., & Butcher, L. (2014). Lean on me: the potential for peer support in a non-government Australian mental health service. Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, 24(1–2), 109–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duckworth, K., & Halpern, L. (2014). Peer support and peer-led family support for persons living with schizophrenia. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 27(3), 216–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrlich, C., Slattery, M., Vilic, G., Chester, P., & Crompton, D. (2020). What happens when peer support workers are introduced as members of community-based clinical mental health service delivery teams: a qualitative study. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 34(1), 107–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2019.1612334.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Foster, K. (2011). ‘I wanted to learn how to heal my heart’: family carer experiences of receiving an emotional support service in the Well Ways programme. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 20(1), 56–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gleeson, J., Lederman, R., Koval, P., Wadley, G., Bendall, S., Cotton, S., et al. (2017). Moderated online social therapy: a model for reducing stress in carers of young people diagnosed with mental health disorders. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 485. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00485.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, P., Taylor, R., Thielke, R., Payne, J., Gonzalez, N., & Conde, J. (2009). Research electronic data capture (REDCap)—a metadata-driven methodology and workflow process for providing translational research informatics support. Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 42(2), 377–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hickman, G., Newton, E., Fenton, K., Thompson, J., Boden, Z., & Larkin, M. (2016). The experiential impact of hospitalisation: parents’ accounts of caring for young people with early psychosis. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 21(1), 145–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoagwood, K., Cavaleri, M., Olin, S., Burns, B., Slaton, E., Gruttadaro, D., et al. (2009). Family support in children’s mental health: a review and synthesis. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 13(1), 1–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Izon, E., Berry, K., Law, H., Au-Yeung, K., & French, P. (2020). I don’t know how to fix it and sometimes it’s so overwhelming. Identifying the barriers and facilitators for family caregivers supporting someone at high-risk of psychosis: a qualitative study. Psychosis, 12(1), 57–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/17522439.2019.1688858.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • January, S.-A. A., Duppong Hurley, K., Stevens, A.-L., Kutash, K., Duchnowski, A. J., & Pereda, N. (2016). Evaluation of a community-based peer-to-peer support program for parents of at-risk youth with emotional and behavioral difficulties. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 836–844. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0271-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R. (2019). Implementing mental health promotion approaches in mental health services. In M. M. Barry, et al. (Eds.), Implementing mental health promotion (pp. 533–562). Springer Nature: Cham, Switzerland.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, S., Chenneville, T., & Salnaitis, C. (2018). Are peer specialists happy on the job? Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 41(1), 72–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kızılırmak, B., & Küçük, L. (2016). Care burden level and mental health condition of the families of individuals with mental disorders. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 30(1), 47–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leggatt, M. (2007). Minimising collateral damage: family peer support and other strategies. Medical Journal of Australia, 187(7), S61–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leggatt, M., & Woodhead, G. (2016). Family peer support work in an early intervention youth mental health service. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 10(5), 446–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucksted, A., Medoff, D., Burland, J., Stewart, B., Fang, L., Brown, C., et al. (2012). Sustained outcomes of a peer-taught family education program on mental illness. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 127(4), 279–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mission Australia. (2017). Youth mental health report: Youth Survey 2012–16. https://blackdoginstitute.org.au/docs/default-source/research/evidence-and-policy-section/2017-youth-mental-health-report_mission-australia-and-black-dog-institute.pdf?sfvrsn=6

  • Malla, A., Iyer, S., Boksa, P., Joober, R., Andersson, N., Lal, S., et al. (2018). youth mental health should be a top priority for health care in Canada. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 63(4), 216–222. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743718758968.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCue Horwitz, S., Cervantes, P., Kuppinger, A. D., Quintero, P. L., Burger, S., Lane, H., et al. (2020). Evaluation of a web-based training model for family peer advocates in children’s mental health. Psychiatric Services, 71, 502–505. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201900365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGorry, D., & Mei, C. (2018). Early intervention in youth mental health: progress and future directions. Evidence Based Mental Health, 21(4), 182–184. https://doi.org/10.1136/ebmental-2018-300060.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, P., & Stomski, N. J. (2019). Australian mental health caregiver burden: a smallest space analysis. British Medical Journal Open, 9, e022419. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers, N., Alolayan, Y., Smith, K., Pope, S., Broussard, B., Haynes, N., et al. (2015). A potential role for family members in mental health care delivery: the family community navigation specialist. Psychiatric Services, 66(6), 653–655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Onwumere, J., Bebbington, P., & Kuipers, E. (2011). Family interventions in early psychosis: specificity and effectiveness. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 20, 113–119. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796011000187.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Onwumere, J., & Kuipers, E. (2018). Psychosis and the family: the role of family interventions. In O. Howes (Ed.), Treatment response and resistance in schizophrenia (pp. 109–127)., Oxford psychiatry library series Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patton, G. C., Hetrick, S. E., & McGorry, P. (2007). Service responses for youth onset mental disorders. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 20, 319–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitschel-Walz, G., Leucht, S., Bauml, J., Kissling, W., & Engel, R. R. (2001). The effect of family interventions on relapse and rehospitalisation in schizophrenia—a meta-analysis. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 27(1), 73–92.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Piuva, K., & Brodin, H. (2020). Just like any other family? Everyday life experiences of mothers of adults with severe mental illness in Sweden. Community Mental Health Journal, 56, 1023–1032. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00549-z.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Saunders, J., & Byrne, M. (2002). A thematic analysis of families living with schizophrenia. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 16(5), 217–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schiffman, J., Reeves, G., Kline, E., Medoff, D., Lucksted, A., Hoagwood, K., et al. (2015). Outcomes of a family peer education program for families of youth and adults with mental illness. International Journal of Mental Health, 44(4), 303–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shor, R., & Birnbaum, M. (2012). Meeting unmet needs of families of persons with mental illness: evaluation of a family peer support helpline. Community Mental Health Journal, 48(4), 482–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, C., Aguirre, R., & Hunt, M. (2013). Social networks and personal loss among young adults with mental illness and their parents: a family perspective. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 36(1), 15–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, G., & Bryant, W. (2013). Peer support in adult mental health services: a metasynthesis of qualitative findings. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 36(1), 28–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weimand, M., Hedelin, B., Sällström, C., & Hall-Lord, M. (2010). Burden and health in relatives of persons with severe mental illness: a norwegian cross-sectional study. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 31(12), 804–815.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Ariel Lebenbaum for help in preparing the literature review. Thanks are also due to the staff and parents who generously gave up their time to participate in the research. The project could not have been completed without the assistance of the Family Peer Support Team. Study data were collected and managed using REDCap electronic data capture tools hosted at Alfred HealthFootnote 1.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alfred Health, Mental and Addiction Health, 999 Nepean Hwy, Moorabbin, VIC, 3189, Australia

    Liza Hopkins, Jacinta Kuklych, Glenda Pedwell & Aysha Woods

Authors
  1. Liza Hopkins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jacinta Kuklych
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Glenda Pedwell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Aysha Woods
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Liza Hopkins. Context and literature review were written by Aysha Woods. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Liza Hopkins and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Liza Hopkins.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hopkins, L., Kuklych, J., Pedwell, G. et al. Supporting the Support Network: The Value of Family Peer Work in Youth Mental Health Care. Community Ment Health J 57, 926–936 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00687-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00687-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation