Volunteering as a community mental health educator: Positives and negatives for recovery

Abstract

An advocacy role that is highly visible within the community is that of a consumer educator, when people with lived experience of mental illness use their personal experience to educate others in the community. This study investigated the positives and negatives for recovery of volunteering in an advocacy role as a consumer educator. A phenomenological qualitative research design was chosen, and semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 10 female consumer educators, aged between 20 and 59 years and with a wide range of diagnoses. Transcripts were analysed using a thematic analysis approach to identify themes within the data using a reiterative comparative procedure. The benefits of being a consumer educator far outweighed the negatives and four main themes emerged for the benefits: the unique value of peer support; the personal meaning gained from educating others about mental illness; the benefits of validation and catharsis through telling their story; and the skills gained. Negatives included feeling vulnerable during or after presentations, being fearful of stigma, and dealing with occasional challenges with co-presenters. This is one of the first studies of the effects on consumer educators of telling and re-telling their stories and 'coming out' in a public forum. It reveals substantial benefits for consumers in this advocacy role, but also shows that the role is not appropriate for all consumers and ongoing support in terms of screening, training, debriefing and peer support is vital.