Abstract
Peer support has been described as facilitating individuals' recovery from mental illness and offering useful support, hope and encouragement. The aim of this study was to explore how individuals with experience of severe mental illness in Sweden perceived peer support facilitating their recovery. The results from the grounded theory analysis of 27 in-depth interviews illustrated that despite diagnoses of severe mental illness, often described in terms of an inability to interact with other people, the identification when meeting others with similar experiences were powerful. The participants described how peer support meant an end to isolation and became an arena for identification, normalization, connection and being important to others. Involvement in the peer support group is related to time and recovery stage, and to how the participants in relation to peers pay attention to their own achievements and their recovery progress, also comparing their level of wellness with that of their peers.
Highlights
Meeting other people with experience of mental illness has been described as facilitating individuals’ recovery (Corrigan et al 2005; Davidson et al 2004, 2006)
In the analysis the ‘power of identification’ emerged as the core category. Meeting people with their own experience of mental illness and its consequences was a powerful contributor in the recovery process, confirming and normalizing the own illness experience and past experiences of psychiatric care
Data were collected on a specific form of peer support (PS) organization, namely the RSMH, a consumer-run organization without focus on vocational activities
Summary
Meeting other people with experience of mental illness has been described as facilitating individuals’ recovery (Corrigan et al 2005; Davidson et al 2004, 2006). Peer support is built on the premise that people who have faced, endured and overcome mental illness can offer useful support, hope and encouragement to others facing similar problems. Coatsworth-Puspoky, Forchuk and Ward-Griffin (2006) describe how a friendly atmosphere and a sense of feeling welcome and safe within the PS clubhouses provide an arena for growth. Looking at other peers as positive role models gives an emotional insight and encourages the individual to recognize their ability to cope with the illness and develop a sense of self-worth as well as a desire to help others. Supportive PS relationships provide a sense of regained social skills, taking control over life, and leaving the patient role behind and instead, becoming a helper within the PS group (Coatsworth-Puspoky, Forchuk, and Ward-Griffin 2006). Peer support clubhouses are often viewed as empowerment settings, being egalitarian and creating a sense in members that the clubhouse belongs to them and that they are needed as contributors (Accordino and Herbert 2000; Mowbray et al 2006)
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