Some other trained peer support workers may also be law-enforcement personnel and firefighters as well as emergency medical responders The social peer support also offers an online system of distributed expertise, interactivity, social distance and control, which may promote disclosure of personal problems (Paterson, Brewer, & Leeseberg, 2013).
[33] Consumers/clients of mental health programs have also formed non-profit self-help organizations,[34] and serve to support each other and to challenge associated stigma and discrimination.
[42] In Canada, the LEAF (Living Effectively with Anxiety and Fear) Program is a peer-led support group for cognitive-behavioral therapy of persons with mild to moderate panic disorders.
[43] In a 2011 meta-analysis of seven randomized trials that compared a peer support intervention to group cognitive-behavioral therapy in patients with depression, peer support interventions were found to improve depression symptoms more than usual care alone and results may be comparable to those of group cognitive behavioral therapy.
[48][49] The 1982 Vietnam-Era Veterans Adjustment Survey showed that PTSD was highest in those men and women who lacked positive social support from family, friends, and society in general.
[50][51] Peer support programs have also been implemented to address stress and psychological trauma among law-enforcement personnel[52][53] and firefighters as well as emergency medical responders.
[55] Peer support has been used to help survivors of trauma,[56][57] such as refugees, cope with stress[58] and deal with difficult living conditions.
"[62] Peer support is a fundamental strategy in the rehabilitation of landmine survivors[63][64] in Afghanistan, Bosnia, El Salvador and Vietnam.
A study of 470 amputee survivors of war-related violence in six countries showed that nearly one hundred percent said they had benefited from peer support.
[70] A 1986 study on 70 adolescent mothers considered to be at risk for domestic violence showed that peer support improved cognitive problem-solving skills, self-reinforcement, and parenting competence.
Support from peers can offer emotional, social, and practical assistance that helps people do the things they need to do to stay healthy.
[85] Peer support is considered to be a key component of the independent living movement and has been widely used by organizations that work with people with disabilities, including the Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) and Survivor Corps.
Paraprofessional peers are defined as having a shared background as the target population and work closely with and supplement the services of the mental healthcare team.
The peer support for recovery model focuses on improvement in overall health and wellness, and has long been successful in the treatment of SMI (serious mental illness) but is relatively new for PTSD.
These findings have been put into practice through a peer support program for veterans in the Sonora, Stockton, and Modesto VA outpatient clinics.
The program is funded through grants in support of new treatment approaches to serve veterans in rural, traditionally underserved areas.
[101] These services have successfully helped to augment the often overburdened mental health treatment teams at the central valley outpatient VA clinics.
A personal story of success was featured in Stanford Medicine magazine and the collaborative nature of the program was described in the book, Partnerships for Mental Health.
Trauma risk management (TRiM) is a work-place based peer support for use in helping to protect the mental health of employees who have been exposed to traumatic stress.
StRaW was developed by March on Stress Ltd and early research again shows it to be a credible and effective way of supporting staff at work.
The aim of these organizations is to support the health, rights, and well-being of sex workers and advocate on their behalf for law reform in order to make work safer.