Implementation of Peer Support Specialists in Mental Health Centers-Presentation Slides

Presentation Slides

Pdf Summary

This document is a transcript of a webinar on the integration of peer support within a mental health center. The webinar was part of the Clinical Support System for Serious Mental Illness (CSS-SMI) initiative, which is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and implemented by the American Psychiatric Association (APA).<br /><br />The webinar discusses the unique challenges associated with hiring peer support specialists and emphasizes the importance of successful integration of peers within a mental health team. Peer support has a long history, dating back to the 18th century, and is a key component of a recovery-oriented system of care. SAMHSA defines peer support as a range of activities and interactions between individuals with similar experiences of mental health conditions or substance use disorders.<br /><br />Peer support is shown to have numerous benefits, including reduced re-hospitalization rates, reduced days in inpatient treatment, and increased quality of life outcomes. However, there are also challenges associated with employing peer support specialists, such as a lack of formal education and standard training for peers, lack of understanding from other team members, and inadequate pay.<br /><br />The successful integration of peers requires a top-down approach, training, flexibility, and involvement of families. Organizational support is also crucial, and examples of organizational support at Communicare, a mental health center, are given.<br /><br />The document includes several testimonies from peer support workers at Communicare, highlighting the positive impact of their work and the support they receive from supervisors.<br /><br />In conclusion, the webinar emphasizes the importance of peer support in mental health treatment and provides strategies for successful integration of peer support within a mental health team. It also provides information on how to claim continuing education credits for attending the webinar and mentions upcoming webinars.

Keywords

peer support

mental health center

SAMHSA

challenges

recovery-oriented system of care

employing peer support specialists

organizational support

Communicare

testimonial

webinars