Certified Peer Support: Phase 1

Phase 1, Initial Pilot

In October 2017, 2020 Mom was awarded a grant from the ‘hope & grace’ initiative, a commitment by the global women's skincare brand Philosophy to support the mental health and well-being of women.

The aim of the study was to learn:

Whether existing and evidence-based mental health certified peer specialist training could be leveraged to support women with maternal mental health disorders and what modifications if any would need to be made to address gender-responsiveness.

The pilot was conducted by our partner, Women’s Health Innovation and RI International, in communities in Texas and Arizona, states with the nation’s highest-risk populations according to research and census data.

The study findings were released in February 2020 at the 2020 Mom annual FORUM. The full study is below.

Peer Support and Study PowerPoint Presentations

Hope&Grace Initiative

The aim of the grant and study was to learn:

Whether existing and evidence-based mental health certified peer specialist training could be leveraged to support women with maternal mental health disorders and what modifications if any would need to be made to address gender-responsiveness.

The pilot was conducted by our partner, Women’s Health Innovation and RI International, in communities in Texas and Arizona, states with the nation’s highest-risk populations according to research and census data.

The study findings were released in February 2020 at the 2020 Mom annual FORUM. The full study is below.

Peer Support and Study PowerPoint Presentations

Full Report

 

The study found:

  1. Existing certified peer specialist trainings in each state can be effectively utilized if adapted to provide training to mother-specific cohorts and provide training in virtual settings.

  2. Maternal mental health “add-on” training should also be provided by experts in maternal mental health, so peers have a basic understanding of the range of maternal mental health disorders and types of evidenced-based treatments.

The goals are to ultimately:

  1. Augment maternal mental health provider shortages,

  2. Offer women support in a manner that meets them where they are,

  3. Provide women who have recovered (or managing chronic depression and anxiety) and are eager to ‘give back’ a career opportunity

  4. Give support to those at risk and to those who are already suffering