The role of technical people in accompaniment and mutual support (TeAM) in mental health recovery
Mutual support (also known as peer-to-peer or peer support ) is a system that involves giving and receiving help based on the fundamental principles of respect, responsibility, and agreements about what is helpful (Mead et al., 2001). This support is based on understanding the other person's situation using empathy and drawing on one's own emotional and psychological experience, from which people are able to support each other.
People who are technicians in accompaniment and mutual support (TeAM) have experienced mental health problems and are trained to work supporting people in recovery.
In this way, the user himself becomes another professional, providing service to other users, thus acquiring professional, paid, moral and civic responsibility.
Implementation of the peer support agent role in mental health
In the early 1980s, mutual support among people diagnosed with mental health conditions was first defined as the help offered between people with similar difficulties and with the aim of achieving a desired social and personal change (Gartner & Riessman, 1982).
In recent years there has been a rapid growth in peer support in mental health, initially established in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and later expanding to the United Kingdom, Scotland and Denmark (Davidson & González-Ibáñez, 2017).
International experiences demonstrate that the formal nature of the intervention provides added value: for the person acting as a mutual aid agent, it means empowerment and improved self-esteem, and for the person receiving the help, it provides the opportunity to express themselves more freely and confidently in the relationship with a peer. (Bono del Trigo et al., 2011).
How the TeAM interacts with people in recovery
Peer-to-peer learning aims to highlight the recovery model, a paradigm that emphasizes minimizing sociocultural stigma and self-stigma, focusing on people's rights, self-determination, and their ability to recover as a continuous and gradual process.
The essence of peer support is a relationship based on collaborative learning. This relationship is central and relies on the exchange of experiences. It is generally considered that the person in the peer support role is further along their path to recovery and uses their own experience of overcoming suffering to support others in crisis.
It's worth noting that a close, personal approach like that of the TeAM team can create a sense of intimacy for the user, simply by being recognized by another person with a similar diagnosis. This validation and equality of roles can add a layer of credibility, authenticity, and connection.
The goal of peer support and accompaniment (TeAM) technicians is to participate directly within teams, offering practical advice, suggestions, strategies, and emotional support. Maintaining a non-professional perspective is crucial to helping people rebuild their sense of community after an unfamiliar experience. (Zabaleta et al., 2021)
Its mission is to provide the person being served with information that empowers them to choose, rather than adopting a prescriptive approach that could be limiting. The TeAM team champions the individual decision-making capacity of all people, while also recognizing the value of sharing all information with users and the team to gain a more comprehensive perspective that allows them to address situations based on each person's unique circumstances.
In order for the work of TeAM to be carried out, the following issues must be taken into account:
- Self-care : to ensure one's own well-being and to provide efficient service.
- Self-awareness : to identify your skills, abilities, and vulnerabilities.
- Confidentiality : to defend privacy and intimacy bidirectionally.
- The ability to listen : to offer spaces that promote exchange.
- The use of communication : to have an effective and real relationship that allows for recognition and reflection on emotions and feelings.
The introduction of the TeAM role in mental health teams represents a paradigm shift within the recovery model, in which trained users are integrated into mental health teams to provide support and contribute their own experience to the development of daily practice.
Many user groups have advocated, for several years, for an expansion of peer support through Mutual Aid Groups or the incorporation of the Expert Patient in psychoeducational groups and individual consultations.
Ultimately, recovery support services are designed to engage, activate, and support individuals with mental health diagnoses and their families, and therefore, peer support program workers are poised to emerge as important members of treatment teams.
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