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Educational draft · awaiting clinical reviewUse Rapid for revision, not patient-care decisions. Check current national and local guidance and the BNF or BNFC before acting.

Social prescribing, peer support and rehabilitation

Psychiatry · UK scope · Sources checked 7 Sept 2026 · Clinical review pending

RapidFull
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Escalate a newly disclosed crisis

A community or peer-support contact may reveal suicidal intent, abuse or acute mental-health deterioration.

Action: Use the agreed escalation route to obtain urgent clinical or emergency assessment, sharing necessary information and maintaining support until responsibility is clearly transferred.

Synopsis

Distinguish community connection, trained peer support and specialist rehabilitation, selecting accessible support that advances the person's recovery goals while maintaining clinical responsibility.

  • Social prescribing connects people with community activities, groups and practical support based on what matters to them.
  • A link worker helps develop a personalised plan and overcome access barriers; handing out an unfiltered list is a weaker intervention.
  • Peer support uses relevant lived experience within a defined role, with training, boundaries, supervision and routes to clinical help.
  • NICE CG178 advises considering trained supported peer workers in psychosis and schizophrenia to improve experience and quality of life.
  • Specialist rehabilitation for complex psychosis combines clinical treatment with practical daily-living skills and community participation.
  • NICE recommends a multidisciplinary biopsychosocial assessment within four weeks of entering a rehabilitation service.
  • Track whether support produces the person's chosen benefits; referral counts alone cannot establish better wellbeing or reduced clinical need.

Key red flags

A person disclosing imminent self-harm or an unsafe home situation needs an immediate appropriate response, rather than being redirected to a routine community activity.

Investigation priorities

01
What matters and current networkFirst step

Identify a personally meaningful goal and existing sources of connection.

Management branches

Social prescribingMake a supported community connection

The person identifies a practical, social or emotional need suited to a local community resource.

  1. Agree the desired change and offer link-worker involvement where available, explaining the role and obtaining agreement for the necessary information sharing.
  2. Select a relevant resource with the person, check accessibility and address barriers to first contact or attendance rather than relying on a generic directory.
  3. Arrange a review of the actual experience and benefit, adapting the plan if the resource is unavailable, unsuitable or does not address the identified need.
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Sources and review status3 sources · checked 7 Sept 2026 · clinical review pending+
Sources

Sources and review status

National guidance is shown before implementation-dependent detail. Apply principles in context and verify current guidance when a decision affects care. Source check completed 7 Sept 2026; clinical approval remains outstanding.

  • NHS England Social prescribingLink-worker role, personalised support plans and community connections.
  • NICE CG178 Peer support and self-management recommendationsTrained peer workers, support and mentorship, programme content.
  • NICE NG181 Rehabilitation for complex psychosis recommendationsAssessment timing, daily-living skills, structured activity and community participation.

Editorial contact: Doctor’s Passport editorial team. Source-check date is separate from clinical approval. Report a content problem · Content changes

Authoring stateRapid draftClinical stateAwaiting reviewJurisdictionUnited Kingdom