SynthesisPsychological medicine2023
The effectiveness of peer support for individuals with mental illness: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Psychological medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 80 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Peer-led Intervention for Individuals With Major Depression.
Social Worker-led Mindfulness-based Intervention for Managing Depressive Symptoms in Community-dwelling Older Adults in Hong Kong: A Randomised Controlled Trial
Who cites it
80 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 115 citations in OpenAlex.
- Implementation and Outcomes of Peer Support Workers in Services for People With Personality Disorder: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis.Personality and mental health · 2026Pooled it
- Mobile crisis effectiveness: a systematic review and associated functions and forms framework.BMC health services research · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Youth and Young Adult Peer Support in Mental Health Services: A Systematic Review.Administration and policy in mental health · 2025Pooled it
- Mental health in elite sports. A continuum of strategies that athletic trainers can use to support competitive athletes with psychological issues: a scoping review.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Is peer support beneficial for individuals with borderline personality disorder? Exploring its potential and challenges - a scoping review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Actions targeting the integration of peer workforces in mental health organisations: a mixed-methods systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- The effectiveness, implementation, and experiences of peer support approaches for mental health: a systematic umbrella review.BMC medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Identifying and synthesizing components of perinatal mental health peer support - a systematic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- The Competencies and Implementation of Peer Support Interventions for People with Serious Mental Health Challenges: A Systematic Review.Harvard review of psychiatryPooled it
- Effectiveness of a peer-facilitated, recovery-focused self-illness management program for adults with first-episode psychosis: A randomized controlled trial.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Loneliness, Self-Efficacy and Adaptive Coping: Mixed Methods Analysis of Mediation in a Peer Support Intervention for Depression.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Peer Support Intervention for Suicide Prevention Among High-Risk Adults in Michigan: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Peer Support Services in the Veterans Health Administration: Lessons for Healthcare Organizations.Administration and policy in mental health · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of Recovery Colleges: A Nonrandomised Clinical Trial Across Two Years Using Propensity Score Matching: Efficacité des collèges de rétablissement: essai clinique non randomisé sur deux ans utilisant l'appariement par score de propension.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2026Observational
- From impact factor to human factor: the rise of humanness in the age of intelligent machines.Npj mental health research · 2026Article
- Reducing self-stigma and supporting disclosure in adults with mental illness.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2026Article
- What Matters in Sustaining Peer Support for Adults in Mental Health Services? Exploring the Perceptions of Diverse Actors.Community mental health journal · 2026Article
- Perspectives on peer recovery support for people experiencing homelessness: A qualitative study of key informants from national health care for the homeless programs.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe benefits of peer support interventions (PSIs) for individuals with mental illness are not well known. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the effectiveness of PSIs for individuals with mental illness for clinical, personal, and functional recovery outcomes.
methodsSearches were conducted in PubMed, Embase, and PsycINFO (December 18, 2020). Included were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing peer-delivered PSIs to control conditions. The quality of records was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool. Data were pooled for each outcome, using random-effects models.
resultsAfter screening 3455 records, 30 RCTs were included in the systematic review and 28 were meta-analyzed (4152 individuals). Compared to control conditions, peer support was associated with small but significant post-test effect sizes for
conclusionsPSIs may be effective for the clinical and personal recovery of mental illness. Effects are modest, though consistent, suggesting potential efficacy for PSI across a wide range of mental disorders and intervention types.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.