Top 5 Mistakes Peer Support Specialists Have Made in Working in Healthcare: #5 Not Aggressively Promoting Their Unique Value

In a previous serious of blog posts, I focused on key mistakes that clinicians have made during the implementation of Peer Support Specialists in clinical settings.  It is important to note that Peers have also made key mistakes in this process and that these mistakes continue.  This new post is the first in a series on those key mistakes, with the hope that together, we can limit the impact of these mistakes and continue to build a strong Peer Support community of practice.

 Peer Support Specialists represent a truly unique addition to the teams of clinicians who work in healthcare.  Peers are dramatically different than any other professional group in their role, their expertise, and their training. Their impact depends greatly on the degree to which the team, and the Peer Support Specialists fully understands the Peer role and how to use it strategically. 

I have written previously about the failure of clinicians to recognize and understand the unique value of Peers.  I think Peers have also made this same mistake.  Most Peer Support Specialists know that they bring something unique to clinical programming, but they are often unclear about what that is.  Some see themselves as helpers to clinicians.  Others see themselves as a counterbalance to the work of clinicians.  Very few are able to talk about the specific additions that they bring and how to work with clinicians in a way that ensures that those unique additions improve client outcomes.

The result is that both clinicians and Peer Support Specialists don’t use Peers in the most strategic way.  This leads some stakeholders to feel a lack of enthusiasm about the work of Peers – “Why hire more Peer Support Specialists if I can’t tell what they add?”.  I worked in the VA healthcare network for many years.  In hospitals where the Peers had a clear sense of their unique value and advocated for roles that used that value to improve client care, there was great demand for Peers and the number of Peer Support Specialists grew rapidly to 20 or more.  In hospitals where the Peers were not clear on their unique contribution, hiring was limited to only 2-3 Peers. 

 There are many professions working in clinical settings, each bringing a unique set of skills to the table in the service of the clients.  Peers are the newest profession to join the setting.  It is critical to know (and be able to explain) why anyone should be glad to see that Peers are involved in clinical care.

1.       They have unique expertise in the experience of illness, treatment and recovery, and they talk openly about that with clients.  Clinicians often do not have that expertise, and even if they do, they rarely talk openly about it with clients.  By bringing this expertise to clinical care, Peers improve the ability of the program to understand the client and to achieve better outcomes.

 2.      Peers are concrete examples of success and recovery.  Their presence promotes patient hope and confidence in treatment.  In many clinical settings, clients are not optimistic about recovery or success, and they are skeptical about the statements of clinicians.  By being an example of success, Peers increase the hope and motivation of these clients.

 3.      Peers often are given early credibility and trust.  Healthcare and healing are closely tied to the trust of clients in those trying to help them. It takes time for clinicians to earn that trust, and so Peers are quickly ahead in this key task.  Placing them in strategic roles to use that early credibility and trust to build engagement (e.g. orienting new clients, as patient navigators, etc.) results in better participation and outcomes.

 4.      Peer Support Specialists are natural advocates for clients with the clinicians and the program.  Their role helps balance out the real and perceived differences in power between clients and clinicians.  When clinicians recognize this natural role for Peers and position Peers to be effective advocates, they improve the quality of their own programming.

 5.      Peers are natural outreach workers.  Most people are slow to seek help and slow to actually enter treatment once they seek it.  Peers have that special credibility that helps them convince people to engage in treatment earlier. 

 6.      Peers are natural liaisons with the community of recovered people.  Many clients will need the support of community-based support groups and friends in recovery.  Clinicians are not skilled in helping make those connections for their clients.  Peers know the community and have the credibility to build those connections for clients.  They need to be vocal in calling for opportunities to use those connections to build better engagement with the community.

There are services that both Peers and clinicians can do well for clients.  It is the unique things that Peers bring that will get the system’s attention and result in more jobs and greater roles for Peer Support Specialists.  Peers need to be aware of those unique contributions, to embrace and use them, and then to draw attention to them as part of helping the healthcare system recognize their unique value.