Peer Respites: A Research and Practice Agenda

Abstract

Peer respites are voluntary, short-term, residential programs designed to support individuals experiencing or at-risk of a psychiatric crisis. They posit that for many mental health services users, traditional psychiatric emergency room and inpatient hospital services are undesirable and avoidable when less coercive or intrusive community-based supports are available. Intended to provide a safe and home-like environment, peer respites are usually situated in residential neighborhoods. These programs are increasing in number across the United States, yet there is very little rigorous research on whether they are being implemented consistently across sites, and what the processes and outcomes are that may lead to benefits for persons experiencing psychiatric crises and to overburdened mental health systems. In this Open Forum, we present an agenda outlining implementation and research issues faced by peer respites.

The Effectiveness of a Peer-Staffed Crisis Respite Program as an Alternative to Hospitalization

“…The environment and services offered in peer-staffed crisis respites are distinct from ED and hospital care. Unlike locked units of hospitals, crisis respites offer a voluntary, safe, and homelike environment where trained peer staff provide 24-hour support to individuals experiencing psychiatric crises (2).…”

Self-managed programmes in homeless care as (reinvented) institutions

“…Relatively little research has been done into self-managed shelters (Tuynman & Huber, 2014). More is known about other self-organized programs, from consumer-run centres (Brown, 2012) to peer-run respite houses (Ostrow & Croft, 2015). Self-organized programs are managed by participants and peer workers and emphasize empowerment (Brown, 2012;Ostrow & Croft, 2015).…”

“…More is known about other self-organized programs, from consumer-run centres (Brown, 2012) to peer-run respite houses (Ostrow & Croft, 2015). Self-organized programs are managed by participants and peer workers and emphasize empowerment (Brown, 2012;Ostrow & Croft, 2015). Those who initiated self-managed shelters claim that these settings are an alternative to regular shelters, in offering more freedom to participants.…”

Understanding how engagement in a self‐managed shelter contributes to empowerment

“…Participants and peer workers in a self‐managed shelter control both daily affairs and strategic decisions (Tuynman, & Huber, 2014). Self‐managed shelters are a form of self‐organised care (Brown, 2012), like mutual help (Hatzidimitriadou, 2002), mental health consumer‐run centres (Brown, 2012) and peer‐run respite houses (Ostrow & Croft, 2015), all associated with empowerment of participants (Brown, 2012; Ostrow & Croft, 2015). In this paper, we aim to understand how a self‐managed homeless shelter as a setting can contribute to participants' empowerment.…”