ArticleBMC psychiatry2019
Motivations and experiences of volunteers and patients in mental health befriending: a thematic analysis.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Interventions supporting meaningful connections for people with serious mental illness: a concept-framed systematic narrative review.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review of the barriers and facilitators to lived experience involvement in mental health services.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- The effectiveness of volunteer befriending for improving the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia in Bosnia and Herzegovina - an exploratory randomised controlled trial.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2021Trial
- Making people meet: volunteers' contributions to social connection for the well-being of self and others.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2025Article
- Exploring factors associated with company employee involvement in physical activities with older psychiatric outpatients: a qualitative study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Volunteering across contexts: comparing attitudes toward volunteering with prisoners and people with mental illness.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Views on volunteering in mental health: a focus group study with mental health professionals and volunteers in Portugal.Discover mental health · 2023Article
- Patients' and volunteer coaches' experiences with an informal social network intervention in forensic psychiatric care: a qualitative analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- The impact of health volunteering of radiology students on improving their self-skills and practical capabilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Article
- Stakeholders' views on volunteering in mental health: an international focus group study.BMJ open · 2022Article
- How do befriending interventions alleviate loneliness and social isolation among older people? A realist evaluation study.PloS one · 2021Article
- Patient and befriender experiences of participating in a befriending programme for adults with psychosis: a qualitative study.BMC psychiatry · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundVolunteers frequently participate in befriending schemes with people with mental illness. This study aimed to explore the motivations and experiences of volunteer befrienders engaging in these schemes in addition to the experiences of befriending recipients.
methodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 38 volunteers and 23 befriending recipients, across 12 mental health befriending schemes in the UK, and analysed using Thematic Analysis. Volunteers highlighted their motivations for wanting to befriend. Individuals discussed their experiences, including the benefits and any challenges.
resultsAnalysis of interviews revealed the motivations for individuals to volunteer in mental health care, the experiences of both volunteers and recipients of befriending, as well as how complex the role of befriender is. The three overarching themes were (1) Personal growth & altruism as motivations for volunteering, (2) Impact of "doing things" versus "being there" and (3) Negotiating between professional role and friendship.
conclusionsA number of personal and altruistic factors motivate individuals to volunteer in mental health care. The experiences of both volunteers and befriendees convey important factors affecting these relationships. In particular, the nuance of the befriending role and the ways in which it can impact the lives of recipients. Indeed, such factors need to be considered when formulating these befriending schemes.
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