Peer support for recovery in early intervention for psychosis: issues surrounding its implementation in Quebec and the French-speaking world

Objectives To describe the different issues surrounding the integration of peer support workers (PSW) and family peer support workers (FPSW) into early intervention for psychosis services (EIS): their roles, the impacts of these interventions for patients, their families, and treatment teams, as well as the challenges and facilitators of this process. Method This article, co-authored with PSW and FPSW, presents a description and discussion of the experience of implementing peer support and family peer support in EIS in Quebec, supported by a perspective of a review of the scientific and grey literature published in French or English in the last twenty years. Results Eight of the 36 scientific articles and two of the 14 grey literature publications selected were specific to early intervention for psychosis; the remainder were on mental health intervention. These publications put into context the experience described by clinicians, PSW and FPSW, and illustrated by clinical vignettes. Different modalities of peer support have demonstrated a positive impact on young people with early psychosis: it contributes to the improvement of self-esteem, quality of life, emotional well-being and can facilitate the rehabilitation process and reduce hospitalizations. Family peer support can reduce the stigma surrounding mental health problems, foster hope and a sense of belonging, increase knowledge of the illness and its treatment, and promote better coping strategies by family members. Nevertheless, many challenges have been identified during the integration of peer support and family peer support within clinical teams: planning and funding the implementation of services, defining their roles in EIS, training, clinical supervision, etc. These challenges need to be identified and addressed quickly in order to optimize care for youth and their families. Various strategies have been proposed for the successful implementation of peer support in EIS, which remains limited in Quebec and in the French-speaking world. It requires the participation and support of all stakeholders, including health professionals, managers and decision makers. Conclusion Peer support and family peer support emphasizes lived experience as expertise, recognizing the contribution of people with psychosis and their families as sources of support and models for recovery. This perspective fits well with the philosophy advocated by EIS. This promising intervention, which has been put forward by various national policies or guides, would benefit from being rapidly implemented on a larger scale in Quebec EIS and in the French-speaking world. This would make it possible to study the positive impacts described for service users and their families with more rigorous research designs and larger samples.