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Safety, Support and Growth: Effective Trauma-Infor ...
Presentation Q&A
Presentation Q&A
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Video Transcription
So, Kelly and Patrick, we have had some questions come in. So, first of all, your quote was, a lot of people said that they really liked that quote. So, I think that resonated with a lot of people. So, one person asked, do you recommend additional peer training specifically in trauma, or is that typically part of peer certification? Do you want me to take that, Kelly? Sure, and I can add on. Okay. It's usually something that you need to add on. Now, if your initial training, for instance, is Sherry Mead's training, intentional peer support, it deals very much with trauma and post-trauma growth and, you know, the type of relationships that peer support can form with a person that helps them to survive these things in a better way. It's very much addressed to that. But if you take some of the other trainings, then you probably will need some additional training. There's actually some very good books, and there are some good tools that are available through IPS, intentional peer support. And I've known a lot of peers who take, they may take the training required by their state, but then they may also go on to get IPS because their choice of work is in the area of trauma and personal relationships. Yeah, and just to add on to that, you know, I think it's incredibly important, and we're increasingly seeing trauma-informed peer support as being kind of a fundamental piece of peer training. But the research on trauma is growing really rapidly. I mentioned briefly, there's a lot of research, especially in the impact on someone's nervous system and different alternative approaches. And I think it's also important for peers to understand and keep up with the changes in the research, especially when you're supporting folks who, very, very many of whom have experienced trauma. So I think it's, you know, not only important as a key way to approach the way that you support others, but also to stay updated on what we're learning about trauma and how to support folks so that we can kind of continue to give people the best information possible as well. Wonderful. So I'm really happy about this next question because I think people are always sort of afraid to ask it. And it sounds much simpler, and it really is, which is, how is a peer defined? That is a very interesting question because it's defined in different ways for several different reasons. If we really wanted to talk about who is a peer, it's the person who is going to receive the services. It's the person that they choose to be their peer. And they base it on whatever is important to them. In the system, though, of behavioral health care, we don't have an infinite number of people available, and we're really unable to match peers, you know, based upon type of diagnosis, type of history, you know, the way that they grew up, the, you know, gender and racial and cultural issues and all of that. We're lucky when we can have those choices. But so frequently, because of the lack of enough peer support availability, we don't have those choices. And so we roughly define it in those terms that we say someone who can provide peer support in mental health services, behavioral health services, is someone who has personal lived experience with a diagnosis of their own, with experiencing how the system of care might function, and who have experience of moving forward into recovery, and then also who have received specific training to help people. But really, if it comes down to it, a peer is who you say it is for you. Yeah. And just to add on to that, too, because as Patrick points out very frequently, that peer support services have had a really significant impact on the entire field of behavioral health services. So many clinicians who have historically not disclosed their own personal lived experience may have it, right? That's why they entered the field, their family members, their people who've struggled with their own mental health, or may sometimes disclose now. So I think, too, there's peerness in that I identify with this person. But I think the peer specialist role, which is what we're talking about, is a very distinct way of relating to disclosing and supporting people. Thank you both. I know in my own career, as I've used peers in a variety of contexts, I've thought that definition of peer has sometimes been fluid in terms of what the population who is going to be working with the peer, how they define it. And so I think you're right that there's a lot of need to ask the audience what they see as the peer. What are the salient things that they really want to relate to this other person on? So I appreciate that conversation.
Video Summary
In this video, Kelly and Patrick discuss the topic of peer training, specifically in relation to trauma. They explain that while some initial trainings do address trauma, additional training may be needed depending on the specific training program. They mention Sherry Mead's intentional peer support training as one that covers trauma and post-trauma growth. They also recommend books and tools available through intentional peer support for further learning. Kelly emphasizes the importance of trauma-informed peer support and staying updated on research in order to provide the best support to individuals who have experienced trauma. The definition of a peer is discussed, with Kelly and Patrick explaining that it can vary based on individual preferences, but in the context of behavioral health services, a peer is someone with lived experience, personal recovery, and specific training to provide support. The discussion highlights the impact of peer support services in the field of behavioral health and the importance of understanding and meeting the needs of the audience when defining peer support.
Keywords
peer training
trauma
specific training program
intentional peer support training
trauma-informed peer support
Funding for SMI Adviser was made possible by Grant No. SM080818 from SAMHSA of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, SAMHSA/HHS or the U.S. Government.
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