Peer specialists in community mental health: Ongoing challenges of real-world inclusion

Abstract

Despite the tremendous growth of the peer specialist workforce in recent decades, significant ethical, political, and procedural challenges remain regarding recruitment and retention of peer staff. This column explores such challenges and potential pitfalls by examining the limits of current accommodation practices, the complex nature of "shared" identities, and the fraught navigation of disability, stigma, and employee misconduct. Implications for human resources and the importance of proactively addressing power dynamics between peer and non-peer staff, and potential structural stigma in mental health settings are discussed.