Formal peer recovery support interventions involve services, guidance, and mentorship by specially trained individuals with lived experience of substance use and/or mental illness. This type of support may be especially useful to people with co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders who often face unique challenges initiating and sustaining recovery. In this study, the researchers examined whether adding a peer-led recovery support program to a skills training program improved mental health and substance use outcomes for people with co-occurring psychosis and substance use disorder.
The researchers examined the effect of skills training and a peer-led social engagement program on psychosis symptoms, social functioning, substance use, and healthcare utilization among people with co-occurring psychosis and substance use disorder.
The researchers found that both the skills training only and skills training plus Engage conditions led to reduced positive psychotic symptoms (short term), increased levels of self-criticism (long term); improved social functioning (short term); reduced hospital readmissions (short and long term); and reduced number of days drinking alcohol (short term). Interestingly, the skills training only condition reduced negative psychotic symptoms (short term).
Most importantly, adding the peer-led social engagement program to the skills training condition led to increased duration of outpatient treatment (short term); reduced number of days experiencing alcohol-related problems (long term); and increased rating of importance of getting treatment for alcohol problems (short term).
