Mental health consumers as peer interviewers

Although consumers are increasingly hired as mental health workers, they ty pically fulfill demanding jobs such as case manager, This study examined th e performance and job satisfaction of 18 consumers with serious mental illn ess who were hired for less demanding work-to conduct highly structured int erviews with their peers. The consumers completed interviews with 243 peers , Only one interviewer was unable to perform the work, Ninety percent of th e interviews were completed satisfactorily. Interviewers reported increased skills and knowledge, improved self-assurance, and feelings of pride. Resu lts of the study suggest that a wide range of consumers can pet-form struct ured treatment tasks.