This document provides advice for becoming a peer specialist and mental health advocate. It recommends pursuing this emerging field to help define how peers can contribute and make a positive impact. The tips suggest taking strengths-based and goal-oriented approaches when working as a peer specialist, and developing action plans focused on behavior change. For advocacy work, the document advises considering strategic, evidence-based, and social marketing approaches, as well as developing advocacy plans focused on important issues and targeting audiences to understand their perspectives.

1. Becoming a Peer Specialist and
Mental Health Advocate
For my dear friend Eliza

2. WHY
• Emerging field with a chance to define how
peers can contribute to the sector
• Opportunity to make a difference
• Lots of sense-making involved

3. Peer Specialist Tips
• Consider strengths-based approaches
• Consider goal-oriented approaches
• Develop action plans based on desired
behaviour change

4. Mental health advocacy
• Consider a strategic approach with advanced
presentations by design (book)
• Consider an evidence-based approach to
mental health advocacy
• Consider a social-marketing approach

5. Mental health advocacy
• Develop an advocacy plan which identifies
important advocacy areas, based on
information from the research team
• Work together with others to seek evidence
on which target audiences to focus on, and
seek to understand their perspectives.