Director’s blog: A new year for peer in Scotland
Momentum around mental health peer support in Scotland keeps building and 2026 is shaping up to be a big year.
Over many years Scottish Recovery Network and partners have helped mental health recovery move from the margins to the mainstream. As part of this peer support has become a more recognised part of the policy agenda, aligning with calls for prevention and early intervention supports, a mental health system led by lived experience knowledge and expertise, and community-based, recovery focused whole person services.
We’re starting the year with a bang with the launch of Peer Support in Scotland, the first of four Insight Reports. This foundational report explores what peer support is (and isn’t), why it matters for recovery, and what peer support activity and workforces look like across Scotland today. Later in the year, further reports will focus on prevention and early intervention, crisis and distress, and what helps or hinders peer support to grow, drawing on Scottish and international evidence. These reports have been created to act as tools to inform, inspire and influence change and we can’t wait to hear how you are using them.
Spring also brings the publication of our new 10-year strategic plan (2026–2036). Shaped by community roundtables, evaluation findings and our work alongside you, it sets out a shared ambition for a recovery-focused mental health system led by lived experience, peer practice and community innovation and the actions we’ll take to get there. The strategic plan shows how, working alongside people, services, organisations and the government, we will create opportunities for lived experience and peer leaders to grow, connect and influence change; strengthen and scale an intentional peer support workforce; and create spaces for collaboration with lived experience that drive innovation in recovery focused approaches.
We’ll also launch a new, co-developed Framework for Peer Support in Scotland. Values-led and flexible, it will support people to understand what good peer support looks like in practice. It won’t be a mandate for peer workers, but it will be flexible and adaptable (like all of Scottish Recovery Network’s resources) and will bring together lots of our learning and resources around peer support. Alongside this, we’ll be creating more opportunities for peer workers to connect, develop and grow through refreshed Peer2Peer sessions, resources and Peer Connects events.
Our Creating Hope with Peer Support work continues too. Over the past three years we’ve seen peer workers, grassroots organisations and communities show the life-saving power of peer support in suicide prevention and there’s more to come.
This is just a snapshot of what lies ahead. Whether you’re new to peer support or a long-time advocate, thank you for being part of this journey. Together, we’re building a recovery-focused mental health system powered by lived experience and strengthened by peer support.
Happy New Peer.
Louise Christie
Director, Scottish Recovery Network
