The challenges faced by families caring for a young person with mental ill-health can be significantly eased with the support of family peer workers (FPWs), a new paper led by Orygen has argued, and more research and development is needed to strengthen the field.
The paper, published in Early Intervention in the Real World, examines the critical issues impacting family peer work, and calls for improvements in policy and practice to reduce barriers and facilitate more FPWs in mental health services.
FPWs have lived experience of caring for a family member with mental ill-health (with the definition of ‘family’ extending to anyone who provides unpaid support to a young person, including chosen family, partners and friends), and can offer practical and emotional support to those facing similar challenges.
Co-author of the paper, Susan Preece, who pioneered Orygen’s longstanding family peer support program, said family peer workers can offer important insights and support to families in a time of need.
“Family peer workers have a unique ability to provide emotional support, relevant information, and referrals based on their own lived experience,” Preece said.
“They can also play an important role in offering empathetic listening and ‘sitting with’ families to provide understanding and foster hope – at a time when families might be feeling confused or overwhelmed.”
Head of Youth and Family Involvement research at Orygen, Associate Professor Magenta Simmons, said that despite the success of FPW, a number of challenges face the discipline, and changes were needed to ensure the continued development of the field.
“The role of a family peer worker can be a very challenging one – one that is often solitary and independent, involving intense work that can impact family peer workers’ own mental health,” Associate Professor Simmons said.
“We must ensure this vital workforce is supported – with appropriate resources, collegial support and dedicated supervision from experienced family peer workers – so they can keep supporting other families.
“We know how important families are in supporting young people’s recovery from mental ill-health, so ensuring family members feel equipped to deal with their care-giving role, and helping them navigate the mental healthcare system, is a key part of tackling the youth mental health crisis.”
The paper highlights the value of peer work, with available literature pointing to evidence that access to FPWs decreases families’ experiences of burden and distress, and can reduce the duration of hospitalisations for patients.
Despite this, FPW roles are often low-paid and insecure, with a lack of professional development opportunities, training and mentoring.
The paper calls for greater professionalisation of the field, standardised working conditions, and greater understanding and legitimacy for FPWs within the mental health sector.
More recommendations:
- Promote social connectedness and support among FPWs
- Develop comprehensive position descriptions, recruitment guides, and professional development pathways for FPWs
- Ensuring adequate pay, job security, and options for full-time positions to improve job satisfaction and retention
- Increase the diversity of FPWs through targeted recruitment and support, to better reflect and meet the needs of families accessing services
- Pursue national and state endorsement of FPW roles to help professionalise the field
VIDEO: Thoughts of a family peer worker
FACTSHEET: Family peer support and youth mental health