This infographic presents the results of a peer support internship conducted by Marc-Antoine Bal, a master’s degree candidate and peer supporter, at the Student Services office of the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC), as part of the Quebec-specific training program in peer intervention offered by the Association québécoise pour la réadaptation psychosociale (AQRP).
While peer support is well established in many mental health settings, its application in a university context remains poorly documented. The internship aimed to better understand the conditions that facilitate its integration among the student population, as well as the benefits of this approach for people experiencing mental health challenges. A qualitative approach—based on participant observation, an internship journal, awareness-raising activities, and discussions with students and practitioners—enabled the identification of key findings.
The results show that open-minded teams, university infrastructure, and the value of experiential knowledge facilitate the implementation of peer support. Conversely, a lack of clarity regarding roles, a scarcity of specialized tools, and certain organizational constraints limit its deployment. The experience also highlights the importance of skills tailored to the university setting. Overall, peer support appears to be a promising approach for promoting the well-being, recovery, and empowerment of the student population, while underscoring the need to further develop tools, training programs, and long-term research projects.
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