The case for organizations to use peer networks to foster resilience

Exhibit A
From A War of Nerves: Soldiers and Psychiatrists in the Twentieth Century by Ben Shephard:
"military psychiatry is often done best not by psychiatrists but by doctors, officers, or soldiers who understand the principles of group psychology and use the defenses in culture to help people through traumatic situations."
In other words, the members of a given culture can be the best ones to tap into it to foster resilience, using the values, beliefs, rewards, and reframing concepts that are the norms within it. Culture makes sense of reality, and trauma often ruptures that sense, leaving people feeling exposed in a crisis of meaning. Who better to help repair that rupture than a peer who knows the nature of what has been lost, and perhaps even the way back? Who better to call on the resources that community uses to provide extra support where needed than someone who knows exactly what those resources are?
PEER NETWORKS RULE!