The Uncensored Truth; How Participants Rate MHI’s Peer Support Skills Training
By Taryn Tang, MHI Research and Evaluation Lead
Since our inception as a company more than ten years ago, peer support has been MHI’s flagship service. Our training methodology has greatly evolved over the years and has been used to train over 1500 people to date!
We knew from our clients and the peer supporters we worked with how meaningful it was to support others with a shared lived experience. We heard countless powerful stories and anecdotes about the value of peer support for individuals and organizations.
But we now have the numbers to back up these success stories.
Over the past 15 months, we have systematically evaluated our Peer Support Skills Training through pre- and post-surveys of aspiring and seasoned peer supporters. What did we find? Quite simply, participants who went through the training were overwhelmingly positive in their feedback, but let's dig down into what they had to say.
Since Spring 2021, we have led our Peer Support Skills Training for over 300 people. While not everyone enrolled intended to become a peer supporter, they all had a desire to leverage their life experiences to help those around them and a mindset of continuous learning. Participants came from various community and workplace settings across the country. Depending on the program, the group completed the training virtually or in-person over days and weeks. In addition, we received evaluation surveys from 221 participants who went through the program. The evaluation data provided below is based on this cohort.
Learning Outcomes
Indeed, one of the most important indicators of successful training is the degree of learning that occurred. To assess this, we asked a series of questions before and after the training to evaluate changes in participants' understanding of key peer support skills and knowledge, such as; the importance of self-care, how to use effective communication strategies, how to share one's own lived experience of mental health in an appropriate manner, the stages of change in recovery, how to support a peer in crisis, and boundary issues. Across all domains, there were highly significant improvements in understanding, ranging from 19% for self-care to a staggering 52% for boundaries after participants completed the program.
Evaluation of the Training
Participants said emphatically they were pleased with the training, with 95% saying that the training met or exceeded their expectations. One participant who was new to peer support said,
"I wasn't sure what to expect; mostly looking for clarity on what peer support was. I got it and much more".
Even participants who had more experience with peer support still found the training to be helpful for both their professional and personal life, saying that,
"I was able to learn a number of new things based on the structure and organization of the course and the materials used," and "I got a more thorough understanding of layers of peer support that I didn't know before."
After taking our training, a significant proportion of participants—87%—also expressed interest in learning more about peer support. This interest bodes well for those who want to become peer supporters, as continuous learning and improvement is one of the key peer supporter competencies as defined by Peer Support Canada.
Here's what some had to say:
"I am always open to learning as much as I can so I can deliver better and better peer support."
"I feel strongly that we should all be equipped with this knowledge, especially young people. The potential for positive impact is impressive".
All MHI training is co-facilitated to ensure the highest level of psychological safety in the learning environment. Co-facilitation teams are balanced with strong lived experience and peer support experience as well as facilitation skills. A third member is added to the facilitation team to facilitate the use of technology.
MHI prides itself on providing an exceptional learning experience, which includes having outstanding facilitators who teach the material effectively and create an inclusive and interactive environment for participants to take in new concepts, practice new skills, and engage with each other.
This level of facilitation excellence is undoubtedly one of the main reasons our training is highly evaluated. For example, across all our offered training, 100% of participants said that our facilitators were knowledgeable about the subject matter, 98% said our facilitators presented the course material clearly, and 95% said that facilitators managed group dynamics well.
These are some of the things that participants had to say about our facilitators:
"Instructors were knowledgeable, engaging and supported dynamic group discussions."
"Exceptional! Nothing like instructors who have been there."
"Great training. Both presenters brought personal stories which really helped me retain the information."
Overall Participant Satisfaction
Our final indicator for understanding participant feedback was the Net Promotor Score (NPS), considered by many industries to be the "gold standard" for understanding overall customer satisfaction.
Participants responded to a single question, "How likely is it that you would recommend this training to a friend or colleague?" on a scale from 0 (not at all likely) to 10 (extremely likely). Responses are segmented into three groups: promoters who give a score of 9 or 10, passives a 7 or 8, and detractors a 6 or less. The overall NPS is calculated by the percentage of participants who are detractors from the percentage who are promoters. Results from our participants yielded an NPS of 50, a widely considered excellent score indicating very high satisfaction.
As reasons for their scores, participants offered the following feedback:
It is incredibly gratifying to see these numbers and to read the participants' feedback!
Because we use both quantitative and qualitative measurement, we read each and every evaluation and provide feedback to our team about what participants had to say about their experiences in the training, both the positive and the constructive. Although these data are based on just a small subset of the people we have trained; they provide solid evidence that our Peer Support Skills Training has had a positive and meaningful impact. People have gained a new and deeper understanding of what it means to be a peer supporter.
More than just a course, Peer Support Skills Training lays out a set of tools whereby individuals learn how to recast their life challenges into assets to maintain their own well-being and support other people through the foundation of shared lived experience.
However, for MHI, being a peer supporter is about much more than just having lived experience; it is about inhabiting a specific mindset and a set of principles backed by concrete skills and the judicious assessment of when to use them. Peer support is not for everyone in every situation.
Now that you’ve seen the evidence on our Peer Support Skills Training, are you ready to find out if it’s right for you?
We’re here to help.
Learn more about our virtual Peer Support Skills Training here.
Click here to book a call with us anytime to discuss how we can support you.