Initial evaluation of the Peer-to-Peer program.

OBJECTIVE Peer-to-Peer, sponsored by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), is a structured, experiential, self-empowerment, relapse prevention and wellness program led by trained peer mentors for people with mental illnesses. The authors conducted the first empirical evaluation of the program by using a pre-post survey design. METHODS Approximately 550 participants who were enrolled in Peer-to-Peer during the data collection period (2005-2006) were invited to complete a brief, anonymous survey before participating in the program and immediately after. RESULTS Analyses of responses from 138 participants indicated that they gained significant benefits, especially in areas central to the Peer-to-Peer curriculum--specifically, knowledge and management of their illness, feelings of being less powerless and more confident, connection with others, and completion of an advance directive. Qualitative analysis of responses to an open-ended postintervention question supported the quantitative findings. CONCLUSIONS Peer-to-Peer is a promising self-help modality that warrants additional evaluation with more rigorous methodology.