Chat windows and zoom bombers: virtual boundaries in mental health peer support.

Abstract\nPoints of interestMental health peer support is a form of care in which people with mental health conditions provide emotional support and education to fellow individuals in recovery, and it is often offered online. Yet little research has considered the social and ethical consequences of providing peer support virtually. Drawing on qualitative data on peer support at mental health agencies across Ohio, this paper argues that the move to online platforms like Zoom led to concerns around boundaries: the rules within personal relationships between people giving and receiving support. In particular, the shift to virtual delivery of peer support posed new questions around privacy and communication. I assert that understanding boundaries in virtual settings is critically important to the field of disability studies, as scholars, activists, and practitioners document and analyze the nature of interdependent care relationships that unfold across a variety of social contexts.Mental health peer support is expanding as a form of care for mental health conditions, yet there is little research on peer support ethics‘Boundaries’ are the rules we set in relationships between people receiving and giving support, which can change in online settings like ZoomEthics concerns in online peer support include privacy and appropriate use of technology for communicationResearchers and activists should focus on ethics in peer support as an important place where disabled people receive careMental health peer support is expanding as a form of care for mental health conditions, yet there is little research on peer support ethics‘Boundaries’ are the rules we set in relationships between people receiving and giving support, which can change in online settings like ZoomEthics concerns in online peer support include privacy and appropriate use of technology for communicationResearchers and activists should focus on ethics in peer support as an important place where disabled people receive care [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]