The concept of including peers in your treatment team, that is people who have recovered from a similar health experience to yours, is not new in healthcare.
Alcoholics Anonymous, for example, has successfully engaged the support of recovered people—called sponsors—since the 1930s.
And, today, peer support is widely seen as a vital part of an eating disorder recovery team.
“Peer work is a new space compared to clinical support, but it is incredibly powerful,” says Reece Georgas, a peer worker in Butterfly’s new Next Steps program that offers support to people discharging from hospital care. “I think it's a game changer.”
Reece turned years of difficult mental health challenges and an eating disorder into something of value for others on a path he knows well.
“Out of all the hospitals I've been in, the one where the therapist had a lived experience and where the groups were peer led – this is what I found to be most beneficial.”
Listen to Reece’s honest description of his own experience and how peer workers are skilled to use their mental health story intentionally to support others safely.
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