Severe Mental Illnesses
Mental health conditions, especially severe illnesses such as schizophrenia, major depression disorder, and bipolar disorder impact an individual’s ability to function in areas of everyday life. Those include work, school, and interpersonal relationships which leaves a substantial imprint on the lives of the affected individuals, their loved ones and society as a whole. People living with severe mental illness face social stigma and institutional discrimination, underscoring the crucial need for accessible, high-quality, and rights-based mental health care services.
Empowering through Peer Support
At the heart of bridging this care gap are peer support workers, who leverage their own lived experiences to provide empathetic, holistic recovery support. This approach empowers individuals in their journey toward health autonomy and enriches mental health care delivery by diversifying the workforce.
Given their shared experience and training, peer support workers are uniquely positioned to provide a holistic and empathetic approach to recovery through assisting, guiding, and supporting others with a mental health condition. Despite growing global recognition, inconsistencies in peer support services, training, and certification present significant challenges in standardization and scalability.
Peer support centers mutuality and a rights-based approach to care, fostering connectedness, and represents a compelling alternative to traditional methods of treatment.
EMPOWER's Peer Support Initiative is a groundbreaking response to these challenges. We're creating a universally accessible, scalable, and standardized digital peer support curriculum. This curriculum is being meticulously crafted based on existing peer support landscapes, evidence-based research, and insights from peer support workers and subject experts. Following the EMPOWER Methodology, our team is in the early stages of identifying an efficient and effective intervention for Severe mental illnesses, involving peer support.
Our goal is to foster a paradigm shift in mental health care that:
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Upholds the rights and dignity of every individual, combating stigma and coercion
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Centers on community members' lived experiences in developing interventions
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Expands the mental health workforce by equipping individuals with the necessary skills for peer support
Join the Movement
In collaboration with partners like Sangath and the Global Mental Health Peer Network, we invite you to join this crucial movement. Together, we can build a mental health care system that is not only equitable and compassionate but also rooted in the principles of rights-based care.