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A Narrative Approach to Developing Standards for Trauma-Informed Peer Support

Sage Colleges, macnec{at}sage.edu

Shery Mead

Plainfield, NH

It is the era of evidence-based practices. Now more than ever, social programs are challenged to clearly describe their ideal frameworks and empirically demonstrate fidelity to their standards. In this study, the authors implemented a narrative approach to developing standards in a peer support program for people accessing mental health services. In an attempt to broaden the scope of evidence-based practices, emphasis was placed on developing standards that characterize the helping processes in peer support. Seven helping standards and their related indicators were identified. When is narrative inquiry an effective approach for developing standards? Should similar kinds of social programs have to adopt the same standards? What role do contextual factors play in the development of standards? Whose criteria should standards represent? These are but a few of the broader issues the study attempted to address.

Key Words: narrative • standards • mental health • peer support • qualitative evaluation • trauma

American Journal of Evaluation, Vol. 26, No. 2, 231-244 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1098214005275633


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