The growth of peer support: an international charter.

: While mental health peer support originated in its contemporary form in English-speaking countries, it is now spreading rapidly across the globe. This rapid growth presents two major challenges. The first pertains to "role integrity" and the second to the possible culture-bound nature of peer support; a concern which has attended the emergence of peer support in countries that have significantly different worldviews.

The peer support workforce: Results of a national survey.

Objective: Given the burgeoning role of peer specialists in the mental health workforce, more information is needed about their work roles, tasks, settings, training, compensation, and work satisfaction.

Method: Using both purposive and snowball sampling, the authors recruited a national sample of individuals employed as peer specialists and a variety of other peer provider positions. They conducted an online survey to query respondents about various aspects of their work life.

[Peers as fellow workers: understanding and respecting their roles].

The literature reveals that peer support in mental health services is growing around the world. In the context of peer support, a "peer" is a person with lived experienced of mental illness and choose to share his or her recovery experience in an effective manner. However, tensions between traditional mental health professionals and peer supporters have arisen in the U.