A presentation about the power of peer support in online mental health service delivery. Looking at the research, design and best practice for implementing a new social support network.

1. The Power of Peer
September 2016
Oisin Scollard Turn2me.org

3. Multi device enabled Services

4. What is Peer Support?
● Solomon (2004) defines peer support as “social emotional support,
frequently coupled with instrumental support, that is mutually offered or
provided by persons having a mental health condition to others sharing a
similar mental health condition to bring about a desired social or personal
change”
● Is about understanding another’s situation empathically through the
shared experience of emotional and psychological pain

5. What is Organizational Citizenship
Behaviour?
Organ (1988)
● Members behaviours are discretionary;
● Not directly monetarily rewarded by the online support community;
● In aggregate promote the effective functioning of the community.
● OCBs are neither enforced on the basis of formal role obligations nor
elicited by a contractual guarantee of recompense, but they benefit the
Organization
● Members of online support communities have more freedom to chose
behaviours than traditional organisations

6. How does Social support work?
Organ (1988) identified 5 dimensions:
1. Emotional (ability to receive comfort from others during times of stress)
2. Network (feeling of belonging to a group which shares common interests)
3. Esteem (bolstering of)
4. Tangible (instrumental assistance offered where necessary)
5. Informational (Providing one with guidance or advice where)

7. Factors for Success in the online setting
● Identification with the online support community may not be enough. This
is oneness or emotional bond.
● Effect of social support received as a positive effect on individuals
subjective well-being
● Chiu, Huang and Cheng (2015) findings support that enhanced happiness
and satisfaction with online social life ensuing from receiving social
support from others members stimulates individuals to engage in
citizenship behaviours towards other members out of a desire to
reciprocate the feelings of happiness they have experienced

8. Designing a Peer Community - 6 Steps
1. Design with simplicity - Main Topics - easy navigation - easy to follow, start
/ jump in / join
2. Design with safety - use technology to monitor text, behaviours
a. Bring in power users from the beginning, test features / get feedback
b. Risk identification model
3. Design for and enable Social Support based on research methods
a. Support state v post state
4. Build a community
a. Build trust / have profiles / short blogs from trusted users
5. Integrate with other services online and offline and enable social
recommendations
6. Measure - through scales / service uptake / surveys

9. An ISG + Internet Training Program (ITP)
● Griffiths, Mackinnon, Crisp (2012) The Effectiveness of an Online Support
Group for Members of the Community with Depression:
○ Participants randomised into ISG group, ITP group, combination of the two and control
group
○ Assessments conducted at baseline, post-intervention, 6 and 12 months
● Both the ISG alone and ISG+ITP showed significantly greater reduction in
depressive symptoms. Kessler Psychological Distress (K10) score of 22
was needed to become part of the study.
● Adding an ISG means the delayed improvement effect should be
researched, it's possible participants developed communication skills they
then practised and transferred to face to face

11. Appendix

12. Multi Award Winning

13. Turn2me Online Mental Health
Services Activity Report 2015
Visits to site 238,366
Counselling Delivered 2,500 sessions
Page Views 650,000
Returning Visitors 42,988
Time spent on site (returning visitors) +4 minutes
Time spent on site (new visitors) 1 minutes 5 seconds
Article Views 30,000