Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Mental Health
Date Submitted: Aug 2, 2021
Open Peer Review Period: Jul 27, 2021 - Sep 21, 2021
Date Accepted: Nov 22, 2021
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Design and Implementation of a Novel Peer-to-Peer Coaching Program to Support Digital Mental Health
ABSTRACT
Many individuals in need of mental health services do not currently receive care. Scalable programs are needed to reduce the burden of mental illness among those without access to existing providers. Digital interventions present one avenue for increasing the reach of mental health services. These interventions often rely upon paraprofessionals, or “coaches,” to support the treatment. While existing programs hold immense promise, providers must ensure that treatments are delivered with high fidelity and adherence to the treatment model. In this paper, we first highlight the tension between scalability and fidelity of mental health services. We then describe the design and implementation of a peer-to-peer coach training program to support a digital mental health intervention within a university setting. We specifically note strategies for emphasizing fidelity within our scalable framework, including principles of learning theory and competency-based supervision. Finally, we discuss future applications of this work, including the potential adaptability of our model for use within other contexts.
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.