Resource Tag: PEER SUPPORT

Introduction Suicidal ideation (SI) and attempts (SA) are prevalent in late adolescence and emerging adulthood. Prior research has identified perceived support as a correlate of SI and SA. Less is known, though, about the role of perceived support in differentiating among suicidal outcomes and between the incremental escalation of suicidal outcomes from SI to SA […]

Psychoeducational groups have been used to address many health needs. Yet, there are few such options available for people who have attempted suicide. This study presents preliminary findings from an open trial of Eclipse, an 8-week closed, psychoeducational group for people who have attempted suicide. It examined the effectiveness of the Eclipse program in reducing […]

Introduction There is a need to develop, evaluate, and implement interventions that reduce Veteran suicide. Caring Cards (CC) is a novel intervention that integrates aspects of caring contacts and peers (i.e., persons with lived mental health experience). In CC, Veterans meet in a weekly group to create hope-filled cards that are sent to Veterans with […]

This paper presents findings of a phenomenological study entitled: Healing from Recurrent Suicide Attempts: The Impact of Being a Peer Facilitator. The study examined the impact of being a peer facilitator (PF) in the Skills for Safer Living: A Psychosocial/Psychoeducational Intervention for People with Recurrent Suicide Attempts (SfSL/PISA) group on the PFs’ healing journey. Using eight […]

Background: In the United States, millions of adolescents report poor mental health, where 1 in 5 teenagers considers suicide. Reducing stigma and fostering peer support remains critical for positive mental health interventions and programs. Increasingly, digital mental health tools have emerged with great promise, leveraging social networks. Despite the potential, limited understanding of such comprehensive […]

Background: Peer support is an approach to cope with mental illness, and technology provides a way to facilitate peer support. However, there are barriers to seeking support in offline and technology-mediated contexts. Objective: This study aims to uncover potential ways to design digital mental health peer support systems and to outline a set of principles for future […]

Background Peer workers are increasingly employed in mental health services to use their own experiences of mental distress in supporting others with similar experiences. While evidence is emerging of the benefits of peer support for people using services, the impact on peer workers is less clear. There is a lack of research that takes a […]

Objective: The emergency department (ED) is an important site for suicide prevention efforts, and safety planning has been identified as a best practice for suicide prevention among ED patients at increased suicide risk. However, few ED clinicians are prepared to assess suicide risk or guide patients in the creation of safety plans. This study was […]

Alternatives to Suicide is a different and emerging approach to the suicide prevention paradigm, utilising peer support groups to focus on connection and relationship-building. The groups are a space where people can share  openly and authentically about their suicidal thoughts and feelings, without fear of a clinical intervention. This research project evaluated the impact experienced […]

Background: This PRISMA scoping review explored worldwide research of interventions for suicide prevention delivered within a group setting. Research on group treatments underscores the importance of peer connection in diminishing social isolation and increasing social support. Additional benefits of group treatment include cost efficiency and maximization of staff time. However, the clinical outcomes of group treatments […]

Objective The current study evaluated the long-term effectiveness of a peer delivered suicide prevention gatekeeper training program for college students. Participants: 1,345 undergraduate students (Mage = 20.24, SD = 3.27; 89.6% White) received the peer led training during a single class-period. Method: Participants completed pre- post- and 3-month follow-up surveys assessing knowledge, perceived intervention skills, willingness to intervene, and […]

Background: Peer support is an approach to cope with mental illness, and technology provides a way to facilitate peer support. However, there are barriers to seeking support in offline and technology-mediated contexts. Objective: This study aims to uncover potential ways to design digital mental health peer support systems and to outline a set of principles […]

The rate of suicidality is increasing faster in Black American youth than in any other group in the USA. Researchers have found that family-level factors are important environmental factors for predicting depression and anxiety among Black youth, but less is known about how family- and friendship-level factors are associated with suicidal ideation and attempts among […]

Skills for Safer Living is a 20-week group intervention for people with recurrent suicide attempts. This article details how it pivoted from in-person to virtual groups due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerns of privacy, client safety, and how to deliver the program virtually are explored, along with lessons learned.

Lean on Me demonstrates that the responsibility for providing suicide prevention in LGBTQ communities in Melbourne, Australia, frequently falls on peers with little or no training in responding to a mental health crisis. This report explores how LGBTQ individuals experiencing mental health concerns turn to their peers. Those being leant on provide crucial support. In some […]

Background University students often experience numerous financial, social and emotional stressors that can affect their mental health. The Peer Support Centre (PSC) is a pilot project that was established to provide peer support to students in these stressful conditions. We wanted to investigate whether peer support is a viable form of support that would benefit […]

Rationale There is a growing body of research involving transgender (trans) individuals that foregrounds elevated rates of suicidality in trans populations. Although peer support is increasingly studied as a protective factor against suicide among trans persons, the scholarship in this area continues to be limited and has yet to be synthesized and appraised. Objective In this paper, […]

Peers of individuals at risk for suicide may be able to play important roles in suicide prevention. The aim of the current study is to conduct a scoping review to characterize the breadth of peer-delivered suicide prevention services and their outcomes to inform future service delivery and research. Articles were selected based on search terms […]

In light of data indicating military personnel are more likely to reach out to peers during times of need, peer-to-peer (P2P) support programs have been implemented for military suicide prevention. Often designed to reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviors by reducing mental health symptom severity, existing data suggest that P2P programs have little to no effect […]

Background: Repeat attempts increase risk of death by suicide. The Psychosocial/psychoeducational Intervention for People with recurrent Suicide Attempts (PISA)/Skills for Safer Living (SfSL) is a group intervention targeting repeat attempts. Aims: To evaluate the acceptability of PISA/SfSL to clients and identify key model components influencing this. Methods: This exploratory mixed-methods study involved adults who completed PISA/SfSL (N = 16). […]

Background Repeat attempts increase risk of death by suicide. The Psychosocial/psychoeducational Intervention for People with recurrent Suicide Attempts (PISA)/Skills for Safer Living (SfSL) is a group intervention targeting repeat attempts. Aims To evaluate the acceptability of PISA/SfSL to clients and identify key model components influencing this. Methods This exploratory mixed-methods study involved adults who completed […]

Peers play an important role in adolescence, a time when self-harm arises as a major health risk, but little is known about the social networks of adolescents who cut. Peer network positions can affect mental distress related to cutting or provide direct social motivations for self-harm. This study uses PROSPER survey data from U.S. high […]

Grieving a loss to suicide can seem overwhelming, but the support and understanding of others can be a powerful source of strength. Our Suicide Bereavement Support Groups welcome anyone who has lost someone to suicide. Each group includes 3 modules covered over a 12-week period. Participants must attend an intake session prior to joining a group.