Illinois Dual Diagnosis Training Initiative

Exploring Mental Health Together Peer Mentoring Program

This peer mentoring program was developed in collaboration with and specifically for young adults with IDD and co-occurring mental health conditions. In this program, a young adult with IDD and a co-occurring mental health condition mentors another young adult to support identification and independent use of strategies to cope with mental health symptoms. Peer mentors and participants meet weekly over 16 weeks for 60–90-minute sessions, depending on the planned content and activities. Each weekly session builds on content from the previous session to support skill development, including identification and use of 2-3 coping strategies in multiple contexts to decrease mental health symptoms. 

Mentors use scripts to deliver psychoeducation and facilitate activities to enhance self-awareness (i.e., self-monitoring) and identify, practice, and utilize coping strategies. Activities and worksheets include a “card sort” depicting types of coping strategies, a body scan exercise, worksheets to support self-reflection, and use of tools to resolve barriers to engaging in coping strategies. Sessions include the mentor and mentee practicing coping strategies and discussing how they can be used in participants’ everyday lives. In addition to 20 hours of training, mentors met weekly with a mentor supporter (e.g., graduate-level student in the health professions, mental health clinician) individually or in small groups to tailor each session’s mentoring script and engage in role plays. Weekly meetings also allow time for supervision, and the mentor supporter is “on call” during mentoring sessions, as needed. Training materials (available from the lead author, for use with permission) include the following:

  1. Scripts, worksheets, and activities
  2. Session outlines
  3. Peer mentor training materials
  4. Peer mentor qualifications and required resources

Information about the program is available here:

MGH Institute of Health Professionals: Peer Mentoring

A podcast featuring the peer mentors and researchers is available here:

HealthMatters: Meet BU’s Peer Mentoring Research Team

A PowerPoint presentation about the program can be accessed here:

Boston University Peer Mentoring and Research Program