I would say no. Just to correct the record, I would clarify that the peer-support program is not an approach based on psychotherapy or one that conflicts with a drug-based approach.
Last week, I was speaking with people who were looking to launch a peer support program for doctors in a particular province. They already have a similar program but not for mental health specifically. It's a peer support program because it's doctors helping other doctors. And they want to take that program further by adding a mental health component, given that many doctors suffer from those issues.
I think doctors understand the difference. If a doctor in a province has a mental health issue and turns to the physician's assistance program, when that person asks the doctor who is supposed to be helping them how he or she overcame the problem, the helper cannot answer the question. The doctor acting as the peer helper has never been in that situation. At the end of the day, peer support answers that question and gives the individual hope for a way forward, be it with the help of psychotherapy, drugs or other means.
That lack of hope is often the reason someone suffering from a mental health illness in our society today doesn't seek out help. They think those who provide assistance are just quacks and that the treatment doesn't work. But there's nothing like asking the question and hearing an honest and genuine answer that comes from the heart. There's nothing like hearing someone explain how they overcame their problem, knowing they will be there for you and realizing you'll get through it together.
So peer support is that ongoing assistance.