Strengthening mental health care through peer support

At Stride, we know the value of lived experience. Peer Support Workers are people who have their own experience of mental health challenges and use that insight to support others in their recovery. Since 2023, we’ve been working with Flinders University to explore how these roles can be integrated into general practice.

We’re excited to share that the first paper from this research has now been published, focusing on insights from interviews with consumers, carers, GPs, practice staff and peer workers.

Primary care plays a critical role in the assessment, treatment and ongoing support of people experiencing mental health challenges. While Peer Support Workers are increasingly embedded across mental health services, their role in general practice remains limited.

We’re excited to share that the first paper from this research has now been published, focusing on insights from interviews with consumers, carers, GPs, practice staff and peer workers.

As Thomasina Lawrence, Operations Manager at Stride, reflects,

There was strong support for bringing Peer Support Workers into GP clinics. Participants highlighted the unique value of lived experience, including:

• Connection and hope: Shared lived experience was seen as central to building trust, reducing stigma and fostering hope in recovery
• Practical support: PSWs can offer strategies, share recovery knowledge and provide support between appointments
• Improved navigation and communication: Peer workers can help people better understand their care and navigate complex service systems
• Advocacy and shared decision-making: PSWs can amplify consumer voices and support more collaborative, person-centred care

The research also showed that clear roles, strong teamwork and appropriate support are key to making this model work well.

This work is an important step toward embedding lived experience roles in primary care. By contributing to this research, Stride is helping build the evidence needed to support broader, sustainable integration of peer support across the mental health system.

Stride’s Safe Space Caboolture & our Launceston Medicare Mental Health Centre supported recruitment for this phase and continue to contribute to the broader trial, which has now concluded and is currently in analysis.

We look forward to sharing more as results emerge.

To explore the findings in more detail, you can read the full paper by visiting: 
The Potential Role of Peer Support Workers in General Practice: Perspectives of Consumers, Carers, Peer Support Workers and General Practice Staff, published in Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research.