What helps successful community groups (involving peers support workers) to develop?

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore features of successful peer supported community support groups hosted by St Mungo’s and partners.

Design/methodology/approach

Literature review and theme construction.

Findings

Overall the review confirmed existing findings that successful support groups foster mutually supportive, reciprocal relationships capable of inspiring hope among group members. This paper will concentrate on findings that co-production was indicative of successful groups in terms of shared aims, negotiated agendas, clear communication, and engagement with the wider community.

Research limitations/implications

A group’s success was seen in terms of growth in members’ self-esteem, empowerment, and optimism, which this paper proposes could become part of a conceptual framework of a learning organisational culture.

Originality/value

Developing understanding of a rapidly growing phenomenon in community-based mental health care and presenting this in terms of a particular organisational culture.

Citation

Deering, K., Fieldhouse, J. and Parmenter, V. (2016), "What helps successful community groups (involving peers support workers) to develop?", Mental Health and Social Inclusion, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 126-134. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-10-2015-0038