Investigating the mobility of the peer specialist workforce in the United States: Findings from a national survey.

Abstract

The objectives of the current study were to characterize (a) peer specialist interest in enrolling in/returning to higher education and perceived barriers, (b) perceptions of the local availability of higher education/continuing education programming, and (c) perceived barriers to the advancement of the peer workforce. Method: We utilized both close-ended and open-ended items from a large, collaboratively developed national survey of peer specialists. Analytic methods included both descriptive and basic inferential statistics (N ϭ 801) and qualitative coding and analysis (subsample N ϭ 451). Results: High levels of interest in higher education were found, with nearly 80% of participants reporting that they would enroll/return to college were it feasible. Analysis of open-ended responses regarding perceived barriers to career advancement revealed 5 major themes: financing and administrative policies; perceived public discrimination and devaluation of the peer specialist role by coworkers and agency leadership; lack of opportunities and mechanisms for advancement; the simultaneous need for advanced education and the inaccessibility of college or graduate degrees; and individual level barriers, including internalized stigma and derailed work histories due to disability. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: As the peer workforce continues to grow, it is critical that the field grapple with fundamental questions as to how to best support the development and advancement of the peer workforce. Our findings underscore persistent workplace challenges and perceived barriers to advancement, insights which may help the field develop strategies for improving development supports. Impact and ImplicationsThe research reported in this article found high levels of peer specialist interest in returning to higher education to advance professional skills, while simultaneously documenting significant perceived barriers to advancement, spanning organization-level challenges, state and federal policy, and higher education infrastructure. Moving forward, we suggest that the mental health field consider policies and practices that would better enable the mobility and advancement of peer providers.

A Longitudinal Qualitative Analysis of the Way Peer Support Specialist Roles Change Over Time in a Psychiatric Hospital Setting in Asia

“…Such a picture is similar to the situation in the US where a large number of PSS have given feedback on what they hoped for their future, which usually included additional education to advance their careers. These hopes were stifled by multiple barriers, most notably related to financial limitations (Jones et al, 2020 ). Unique issues related to leadership development concerning PSS progression have also been recently identified, and could pose a threat to the advancement of such potential career pathways (Jenkins et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Being exposed to multi-disciplinary team tasks might help staff retention because it allows the staff to experience a variety of duties, to a degree that respects professional boundaries while providing meaningful variety to the individual (White & Robinson, 2019 ). In this respect, setting hard boundaries around the PSS may hinder their long-term potential (Jones et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Additionally, a consultation commissioned by Together in the United Kingdom highlights several challenges to the professionalization of peer support services such as lack of financial support, inappropriate content of existing training programs, and misalignment with existing organizational structures (Faulkner & Kalathil, 2012 ). Indeed, there is some literature that suggests this lack of understanding has resulted in several negative consequences such as lack of further training, low pay, and discrimination or prejudice from non-peer workers (Adams, 2020 ; Jones et al, 2020 ; Kuek et al, 2021 ). Such literature helps policymakers implement new services designed to maximize their success and sustainability.…”

Service User Participation Within the Mental Health System: Deepening Engagement

“…Moving ahead 5 decades, however, the contemporary U.S. peer workforce, numbering in the tens of thousands (6), consists primarily of a class of workers hired at an entry level, often with low wages and minimal or no benefits and limited opportunities for advancement (7). Even where present, peer specialist career ladders generally remain siloed off from other aspects of clinical treatment and quality improvement, such that mid-or senior-level peer supervisors are likely to have limited direct influence over other mainstay treatment modalities.…”

Roles of peer specialists and use of mental health services among youth with serious mental illness

“…Overall, evidence tends to be stronger for manualized peer-led interventions such as Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP), a group based structured intervention revolving around the development of a symptom self-management and advance crisis plan (Cook et al, 2010;Cook, Copeland, et al, 2012a). Research on the implementation of peer services consistently identify numerous barriers and areas in which support for peer roles is lacking, including role ambiguity, low pay and lack of benefits, poor or inadequate supervision and lack of opportunities for growth or advancement (Cabral et al, 2014;Jones, Kosyluk, Gius, Wolf, & Rosen, 2019).…”