Attitudes of Peer Support Workers towards the Medical Model
A Qualitative Study from the Viewpoints of Peer Support Workers and Mental Health Staff
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8909156 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Guillermo Ruiz‐Pérez (0000-0003-3753-0796, Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg Theodor Fontane, corresponding author), Sebastian Von Peter (0000-0002-8187-5444) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 61 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1138-1147 |
| Publication date | 2025-02-13 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Community Mental Health Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0010-3853 • E-ISSN: 1573-2789 |
| Publisher | Springer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10597-025-01454-z |
| PMID | 39946029 |
| OpenAlex | W4407532895 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 45 |
Attitudes of Peer Support Workers are generally expected to be grounded in recovery philosophy. They may encounter resistance from Mental Health Workers, which tend to be more closely aligned with the medical model. We aim to investigate how PSWs relate in clinical contexts to some main aspects of medical model-based attitudes. This research is part of the larger ImpPeer-Psy5 project, involving 57 interviews with PSWs, MHWs, and service users. The findings presented here were derived from a qualitative sub-study with 5 more interviews and one focus group with MHWs. Some PSWs view psychiatric diagnoses as helpful for their own recovery and interactions with clients, while others find them reductive and stigmatizing. Similarly, PSWs hold varying opinions on psychiatric drugs, with some seeing them as beneficial and necessary, while others have critical views. MHWs' expectations on PSWs may not always align with their attitudes
Focus group · Grounded theory · Mental health · Mental illness · Peer support · Psychiatry · Qualitative research · Resistance (ecology · Sociology · Viewpoints · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Homelessness and Social Issues · Medicine · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Nursing · Psychology
The Roots of the Recovery Movement in Psychiatry
Uses and abuses of recovery
Institutional Work to Maintain Professional Power
Conceptual framework for personal recovery in mental health
Expect the unexpected? Challenges of prospectively exploring stakeholder engagement in research
An enactivist reconceptualization of the medical model
The medical model, with a human face
Competing allegiance in an unclear role
Thematic Analysis
Implementing peer support work in mental health care in Germany
From admission to discharge in mental health services
More ‘milk’ than ‘psychology or tablets’
The Political Economy of the Mental Health System
Peer Support Specialists and Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice
Rethinking Practices and Structures
Challenges Experienced by Paid Peer Providers in Mental Health Recovery
Resistance to the biomedicalization of mental illness through peer support
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |