The Value of Peer Support in Promoting Health and Wellness

The Value of Peer Support in Promoting Health and Wellness

The Creation of Peer Support in the 1790 s in France In lunatic hospitals, as in despotic governments, it is no doubt possible to maintain, by unlimited confinement and barbarous treatment, the appearance of order and loyalty. The stillness of the grave, and the silence of death, however, are not to be expected in a residence consecrated for the reception of madmen. A degree of liberty, sufficient to maintain order, dictated not by weak but enlightened humanity, and calculated to spread a few charms ever the unhappy existence of maniacs, contributes, in most instances, to diminish the violence of the symptoms, and in some, to remove the complaint altogether.

1 st Peer Supporter Jean Baptiste Pussin

Why Hire A Peer Specialist? Why hire a person in recovery from mental illness to work in the mental health system as a service provider? What do Peer Specialists do? What gifts do they bring to an agency?

People in recovery from mental illness working in the mental health system bring the gift of lived recovery experience. Lived experience refers to having common experiences with people using services being diagnosed and in treatment, being in programs and having their lives disrupted by the impact of emotional distress. But lived experience also refers to tapping into a well of resilience to actively change the typical trajectory of life-long dependence on the mental health system. It s the lived experience of finding new tools and new resources outside of the traditional system to develop a life of greater meaning.

Roles Peer Specialists Play Lived recovery experience allows Peers to play certain unique roles that non-peer staff cannot play. These unique roles include peer mentor, peer supporter, and/or peer recovery advocate.

Peer Mentor Role A mentor is a person who has experience in a given area and uses that experience to help a person with less experience advance in life. In the mental health system, a peer mentor uses his or her recovery experience to help a peer learn the needed skills to move beyond the disabling power of his mental illness.

Peer Supporter Role The role of a supporter is to do what s necessary to enable another person to do what they feel they want or need to do. In the mental health system, a peer supporter is a person who sees his or her role as helping a peer set and achieve the goals that will move the peer s life in the direction that the peer wants it to go.

Peer Recovery Advocate Role An advocate is a person who speaks for or pleads the cause of another. In the mental health system, a recovery advocate is a person who believes in the potential for recovery even when that potential mightn t be so obvious to others. They believe because they have had people who believed in them when they did not believe in themselves or when others were telling them that they needed to accept certain limitations that the illness placed on them. They also know the kind of support and encouragement that is needed to take the required risks and move out of a comfort zone. They know the fear and negative self-talk that goes on because they have been there and done that.

Whole Health, Resiliency, the SAMSHA Wellness Model

Peer Support Whole Heath and Resiliency (PSWHR) Core Beliefs People cannot be forced or coerced to change their unhealthy life-style habits; PSWHR training needs to be voluntary Participants must acknowledge having health issues they wish to address. People are more than likely to create a healthier life-style when they see their focus is their interests, strengths, supports and what they see as possible; PSWR training helps people focus on what they want to create in their lives, not on what they need to change People find it easier to create new habits than to change old ones; PSWR training focuses on creating new habits or disciplines on a weekly basis, monitoring how well they are doing and accepting support from their peers.

Major Program Components Attendance at a PSWH support group led by a CPS Mutual support provided by CPS as well as members of the group through out the week

IMPACT Planning Process Helps peer identify a whole health goal that is: Improves health quality Measurable Positively stated Achievable Calls forth actions Time limited Weekly Action Plan breaks goal into small steps achievable in 7 days (eat 2 servings fruit 3x week) Confidence Scale (0=none, 10=total) allows peers to rate whether they can complete the step that week

10 Wellness & Resiliency Domains for Person Centered Planning 1. Stress Management 2. Healthy Eating 3. Physical Activity 4. Restful Sleep 5. Service to Others 6. Support Network 7. Optimism Based on Positive Expectations 8. Cognitive Skills to Avoid Negative Thinking 9. Spiritual Beliefs and Practices 10. Sense of Meaning and Purpose

Relaxation Response Taught as an essential resiliency tool Can attenuate the stress-induced, fight-orflight response. Counters unremitting stress that can negatively impact genetically vulnerable areas of our bodies to promote mind/body illness and premature death

5 Keys to Success Person Centered Goal Weekly Action Plan Daily/Weekly Log One-to-one Peer Support Peer Support Group

Lets See How this Works

What A Difference a Whole Health Goal Can Make.

Now It s Your Turn

The Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) is a structured system for monitoring uncomfortable or distressing symptoms, as well as unhealthy habits or behavior patterns. Through planned responses, WRAP is also helpful in reducing, modifying, or eliminating those symptoms and/or creating the life change you want. It also includes instructions on developing advanced directives that instruct others on how to make decisions for you and to take care of and support you when your symptoms have made it impossible for you to do this for yourself.

Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) groups offer support, other tools and information that will make the WRAP process easier. WRAP educators are taught to avoid talking directly about psychiatric diagnosis or using medical or illness oriented language to frame people s needs.

WRAP is done in groups from 1-2 ½ hours long for 8-15 sessions by two trained facilitators. What the individual will learn: Key concepts in Recovery Developing and keeping a strong support system Issues that need to be addressed Developing a Wellness Toolbox Daily Maintenance Plan Developing Action Plans Crisis Planning Addressing Specific Issues Developing a lifestyle that enhances wellness

Sections of WRAP Daily Maintenance - In the Daily Maintenance Section a, person writes down what they need to do to help them stay all right. This might include things as basic as brushing their teeth or making their bed or it might be something more complicated and comprehensive. Triggers - In the Triggers Section people write down what their triggers are. Triggers are things that happen ( externally) that can take a person to a place in their recovery journey that they might not want to be near. A trigger might be things like a certain kind of music that has bad memories attached to it, a messy house, or angry voices. Early Warning Signs -. An early warning sign might be that a person doesn t want to get up and brush their teeth. They might not want to take a shower or go outside. Those can be early warning signs. In this section a person thinks about what they can do when their early warning signs are happening, and what they can do to help them feel better.

Things Are Breaking Down or Getting Worse - Sometimes even when people have been following the plan we have been making, things might get worse. You are still able to do things for yourself, but if you don t, a crisis can easily occur. In this section you identify what breaking down looks like and then you figure out what to do that will help when you feel things are breaking down around you. Crisis Planning - In crisis planning the individual writes a plan to help others know how to help them when they are not feeling well. What would the person like to happen if it becomes necessary for someone to take over their care or decision-making? What are the signs that happen so they would know they need to take over for the individual? What does the individual want to have happen? How do they know when to let the person have care of themselves back? What needs to be taken care of? Post Crisis Planning- A plan to guide the individual through the often difficult time of healing from a crisis

WRAP has a broad applicability. It has been found to work well for people who have other medical conditions and life issues such as diabetes, addiction, trauma related issues and more. It can also be used as a framework to guide interpersonal relationships, peer support, groups, agencies, and organizations

Recovery Dialogues Recovery Dialogues are tools that are usually used in or with groups of people. The Recovery Dialogues can be used to help people become more aware that they are able to and can take more control in their recovery journey. They are included as a module in the Texas Peer Support Specialist training. The ultimate goal is to help people with a mental illness/psychiatric diagnosis understand and realize that there are things each person can do to help them get the life they want.

Recovery Dialogues are a specific type of support group developed by Appalachian Consulting Group. ACG has developed 21 outlines for specific dialogues. These dialogues can be used repeatedly as people grow and discover different layers of answers within themselves; helping each person to become more able to move forward in their recovery journey.

When a topic is discussed in a Recovery Dialogue Group, group participants are discussing and focusing on something other than themselves; a particular topic. Gradually, participants are encouraged to draw from what they have already learned or what they have inside them, rather than receiving all of the answers to topic questions from others. The goal for Recovery Dialogue facilitators is not to teach, but to listen and ask questions that help group participants explore their own answers as to what will work best for them. This helps everyone sidestep the powerful lack of power that can occur when a group facilitator leads the discussions and group members are given permission (showing a power differential) or guided into answers.

Now It s Your Turn

Session Evaluation Please complete and return the evaluation form to the classroom monitor before leaving this session. Thank you!