Interprofessional education for mental health professions and peer support workers – to facilitate learning in teamwork

Abstract

Purpose In mental health care the peer support workers (PSWs) are, by their experience based expertise, supporting the recovery of people using services and have also been shown to stimulate interprofessional learning (IPL) but which, due to hierarchical teams, is challenged. Therefore, to prepare the teams for IPL that includes PSWs, this study aims to suggest an interprofessional education (IPE) for mental health professions and PSWs. What would such an education look like? Design/methodology/approach The base, in the development of the IPE, is two earlier studies of teams’ inclusion of PSWs and the IPL. Findings The present study suggests Knowledge base 1 with three categories: different roles, expertise and perspectives, and Knowledge base 2 with two categories: teamwork and IPL. The conclusion is that such online IPE offers a readiness for mental health professions and PSWs, in teamwork, to exchange their different expertise to facilitate IPL. This is important to improve the quality of mental health services. Research limitations/implications One limitation is that the empirical study, this paper is based on, is a small-scaled study. Nevertheless, the main results from this study and the other were considered useful as a ground for the development of the IPE. Originality/value By suggesting an IPE for mental health professions and PSWs, this paper adds to the literature on peer support as well as IPL.