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The Future of Peer Support in Digital Psychiatry: Promise, Progress, and Opportunities

  • Technology and its Impact on Mental Health Care (J Torous and T Becker, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

This selective review highlights promising findings and future opportunities relevant to digital peer support services. This review considered literature published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals within the past 36 months.

Recent findings

Digital peer support spans multiple technology modalities: peer-delivered and smartphone-supported interventions, peer-supported asynchronous technology, artificial peer support, informal peer-to-peer support via social media, video games, and virtual worlds. Digital peer support is an emerging area of research that shows promise in improving mental health symptoms, medical and psychiatric self-management skill development, social functioning, hope, and empowerment.

Summary

As the science of peer support in digital psychiatry advances, peer support specialists will likely have an increasingly important role in the mental health workforce—from providing evidence-based, fidelity-adherent interventions to expanding their reach to vulnerable populations and communities.

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References and Recommended Reading

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, 2 Pillsbury Street, Suite 401, Concord, NH, 03301, USA

    Karen L. Fortuna PhD, MSW

  2. CDC Health Promotion Research Center at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, 03766, USA

    Maria Venegas PhD

  3. Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W University Ave, El Paso, TX, 79968, USA

    Emre Umucu PhD

  4. School of Social Work, University of Georgia, 279 Williams Street, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    George Mois MSW

  5. Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, 25 Staniford St, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Robert Walker MS, COAPS

  6. Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, James J. Peters VA Medical Center, 130 West Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY, 10468, USA

    Jessica M. Brooks PhD

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  1. Karen L. Fortuna PhD, MSW
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  2. Maria Venegas PhD
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  3. Emre Umucu PhD
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  4. George Mois MSW
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  5. Robert Walker MS, COAPS
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Correspondence to Karen L. Fortuna PhD, MSW.

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Karen L. Fortuna, Maria Venegas, Emre Umucu, George Mois, Robert Walker, and Jessica M. Brooks declare no conflict of interest.

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Fortuna, K.L., Venegas, M., Umucu, E. et al. The Future of Peer Support in Digital Psychiatry: Promise, Progress, and Opportunities. Curr Treat Options Psych 6, 221–231 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40501-019-00179-7

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