SynthesisHarvard review of psychiatry
The Competencies and Implementation of Peer Support Interventions for People with Serious Mental Health Challenges: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Harvard review of psychiatry. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Tending The Garden: What organic youth peer support can teach us about building systems that care.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- "Peer with a P versus a p": A mixed-methods study of peer support training, service delivery, and supervision across global contexts.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Peer support has proven effective in improving clinical, psychosocial, and recovery-oriented outcomes for persons with serious mental health challenges. This review builds on this evidence with the goal of identifying the competencies and implementation features of peer support interventions. We identified 41 articles for inclusion. Eligible studies consisted of randomized controlled trials that tested the effectiveness of peer support services for adults living with serious mental health challenges. We extracted and synthesized data on the competencies peer supporters demonstrated and implementation elements, including recruitment, training, supervision, and quality monitoring. Most studies were from high-income country settings, with the majority from the United States (75.6%). A competency taxonomy was developed based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's peer support core competencies guidelines, and through additional thematic content analysis. Out of the 16 peer support and clinical competencies identified, the most frequently deployed peer support competencies were collaboration and care (90%), providing support (83%), and communication (73%); the most frequently deployed clinical competency was mental health diagnosis and psychoeducation (51%). Peers were primarily recruited from community organizations. Although reports on training length and format were inconsistent, trainings were most often reported as in person and ranged from a few hours to 192 hours. Supervisors of peer supporters included more experienced peer supporters, clinicians, or other staff, and supervision consisted of reviewing quality ratings and providing feedback on specific cases. Our findings confirm the salience of a relatively small set of competencies across peer support interventions which could be considered universal for standardization and scaling up, as well as best practices for training and supervision. Future research should aim to identify additional competencies that are contextually sensitive or address the needs of vulnerable groups.
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.