Social support and recovery from mental health problems: a scoping review

ABSTRACT Several systematic reviews have suggested the linkages between social support and mental health or the use of mental health services in general. There is a need to develop the knowledge on different associations between social support, social work and mental health recovery, and the various features of social support. Inequality in health is a rising problem. Broader integration of social support-orientation in services and policy can play an important role in reducing health inequalities and enhance recovery. In this article we aim to scope existing literature regarding (a) the associations between social support, mental health and recovery, and (b) describe features of community mental health services that incorporate social support. Further, we discuss facilitators and barriers for social work and social support. Advanced searches were conducted in five relevant databases: Social Science Premium Collection, CINAHL, SweMed+, Idunn, and PsychInfo Ovid, and we did a qualitative synthesis of the included papers. Twenty-nine papers met the inclusion criteria in this scope and are organized into two major themes: a) Associations between mental health and social support, and b) Key features of social support-oriented community mental health services.