Peer Support Specialist

[Beeper]

Has anyone here considered becoming a Peer Support Specialist?

This job / career utilizes "lived experience" with mental health and/or substance abuse to help others in recovery.

 

[TriggerHappy]

Um... what u meaning exactly, pls clarify...?
Went through the AIDS crisis as a hospice carer, shit, piss, puss, vomit, dementia & dying doesn't scare me...
was even a drug councilor in my previous life, till I lost purpose & meaning (everything).



As the wheel of fortune turns....

 

[Beeper]

Um... what u meaning exactly, pls clarify...?
Went through the AIDS crisis as a hospice carer, shit, piss, puss, vomit, dementia & dying doesn't scare me...
was even a drug councilor in my previous life, till I lost purpose & meaning (everything).

View attachment 78217

As the wheel of fortune turns....

Here is a description from the DBSA website:

"A Peer Support Specialist is a professional with lived recovery experience who has been trained and certified to help others as they move forward in their own recovery. As someone who has traveled a similar path, a Peer Support Specialist fosters hope and serves as a valuable role model for those who are walking the road to wellness."

Here is a link to the DBSA website with information about the training they offer:

Who Are Peer Specialists?

Peer Specialists foster hope and serve as role models for others in recovery. DBSA's 4-week course can help you become certified as a Peer Specialist.

www.dbsalliance.org

Um... what u meaning exactly, pls clarify...?
Went through the AIDS crisis as a hospice carer, shit, piss, puss, vomit, dementia & dying doesn't scare me...
was even a drug councilor in my previous life, till I lost purpose & meaning (everything).

View attachment 78217

As the wheel of fortune turns....

Fill me in on the Fortune card… was this some Tarot reading? I was thinking about the idea of … "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king" this morning. Crazy coincidence that you have this saying in your title, lol.

 

[plurkid]

I'm absurdly late to the party... I'm a peer support specialist at a residential treatment program for young adults, ive been in many treatment programs and eventually went to one that I later came to work at.

I'm not sure where the topic of this thread is supposed to go but yeah there's peer supports on here, I've met a couple myself. I've done multiple trainings and am qualified, but I can certainly tell you it's not as easy as it seems from the outside. You need to take care of your mental health, engage in your own recovery and use your recovery to support others doing the same. Youre also supposed to be catered towards their individual treatment goals and act as, well... a peer. Not a regular staff with a power dynamic or a specific focus, sometimes it's simply playing cards or showing them how to ride the bus or going on a neighborhood walk. Sometimes it more intense depending on the relationships built, and boundaries are important in that relationship, it's easy for peer supports to break them. And if you're on this website, you should be wary that technically you're supposed to report suicidal behavior.

I'm not a good peer support and am on the verge of quiting but that's because I am not using recovery the way I'm supposed to. Maybe I'll be better at it one day. It can be a rewarding position and it is nice to be able to offer them this kind of relaxed relationship. But you gotta take care of yourself. I'm glad it's going more into the mainstream and being recognized as an effective addition to treatment positions.