ReachOut PeerChat
ReachOut PeerChat is an online, peer-led chat service designed to support young people who are facing mental health concerns and everyday challenges. This report summarises a 2024 developmental evaluation of the service. The evaluation demonstrates that ReachOut PeerChat is achieving significant positive outcomes that are consistent with its intended goals.
The evaluation also highlights the unique and important role of peer work in the mental health sector. It demonstrates that lived experience is a powerful facilitator of validation and motivation that can encourage positive reframing and behaviour change.
ReachOut PeerChat is constantly evolving in response to user feedback, changing user needs and new technologies. The evaluation supports this ongoing service development by highlighting the need to balance the iterative nature of digitally delivered services with the personalised, considered approach that is essential in mental health service delivery.
Key findings
- 3 in 4 (74%) users reported feeling a little or a lot better after they chat with a ReachOut peer worker.
- Young people experienced reduced distress and felt less alone in their experiences.
- More than 4 in 5 PeerChat users (86%) reported experiencing at least one positive outcome during their session, including:
- 70% felt increased confidence in discussing difficult issues.
- More than half of users reported learning (53%) or co-developing (55%) self-help strategies.
- 57% of users reported that since using PeerChat, they had tried the tips a peer worker had shared with them.
- 53% had tried other sources of mental health support following their session.
‘I feel hopeful and supported. I feel I have a safe place to [open up]. I feel I can come to this [service] before resorting to harmful means. I can use these strategies … and overcome challenges which previously, I wouldn’t have had the right tools for.(2024 Annual User Survey)
