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What is Peer Connections?
Peer Connections is a monthly e-newsletter that is designed to connect persons in recovery, public and private mental health provider agencies, government and policy makers to issues surrounding the creation of a peer workforce and its impact on the transformation of the mental health service delivery system. This e-newsletter will highlight training and certification options, models of peer delivered services, expanding roles for peers in all phases of mental health and research best practices necessary for cultural change. Peer Connections is produced by the Mental Health Association in New Jersey and Collaborative Support Programs in New Jersey, each nationally recognized for their peer delivered services, training and advocacy. Our main focus will be on the issues facing New Jersey, but we will also share information, program models and resources from across the country. Peer Connections is a work in progress and we welcome our readers in identifying new information and resources that we can share. Our goal is to make this e-newsletter of value to the entire mental health community in the transformation of the mental health service delivery system with a strong peer workforce as an essential component. Peer Connections understands that there are a number of terms used to describe persons in recovery who are employed in peer designated and traditional roles. Terms include peer provider, consumer provider and persons in recovery as providers and we will use these terms interchangeably.
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Research Corner: Evidence Supporting Peer-Delivered Models
This e-newsletter will highlight current and past research describing the peer specialist and peer-delivered service models. Hot off the press in Psychiatric Services are research findings from a study conducted by Cook and associates who reported changes in measures of recovery and other psychosocial outcomes among participants in peer-led, self-management intervention called Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP). WRAP emphasizes holistic health, wellness, strengths and social support and encourages people to move beyond simply managing symptoms to building a meaningful life in the community by using a highly individualized plan for recovery. These researchers found that individuals who participated in WRAP showed significant improvement in symptoms and many psychosocial outcome areas associated with recovery. Individuals exposed to a greater number of WRAP sessions showed greater improvement than those who attended fewer sessions.
Wrap has gained widespread popularity through being offered across the country, with ongoing formal and informal WRAP initiatives in all 50 states. This study offers some evidence of the efficacy and effectiveness of this model in promoting recovery and has the potential to advance our understanding of self-management interventions for people living with mental disorders.
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Judith A. Cook, Ph.D.; Mary Ellen Copeland, Ph.D; Marie M. Hamilton, LCSW, M.P.H.; Jessica A. Jonikas, M.A.; Lisa A. Razzano, Ph.D.,Psychiatric Services February 2009, Vol. 60, No. 2.
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Creating A Peer Workforce - A Key to  Transformation
The Mental Health Association in New Jersey (MHANJ), through its Consumer Connections program, has joined with the Mental Health Administrators in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties to create an opportunity for mental health providers to openly discuss the challenges of transformation and the need for change and positive strategies for integrating peers into their workforce. This pilot conference is targeted to mental health providers in the three counties and is designed to provide proven, practical information and strategies to engage peers throughout their organization's workforce. Patti Holland, Assistant Director of the NJ Division of Mental Health Services, Harry Marmorstein, CEO of Drenk Behavoiral Health Services, and Lori Bell Path, Outreach Counselor and peer provider, will keynote the Plenary Session. Download the conference brochure. MHANJ hopes to be able to repeat this conference throughout the state in the coming year. |
New Roles in the Mental Health Workforce
Persons in recovery are assuming positions in all facets of the mental health service delivery system in New Jersey. This e-newsletter will highlight the many varied positions that persons living with mental illness are assuming.
Persons in recovery are now in the hospital-based workforce. Peer Recovery Specialists are working in NJ state psychiatric hospitals. This is possible through the Seclusion and Restraint monitoring project, which is funded by a DMHS grant that was awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations (SAMHSA) through the National Association of State Mental Health Programs Directors (NASMHPD). This project is designed to monitor and reduce the number of incidents of seclusion and restraint of in-patients within the state psychiatric hospital system.
Collaborate Support Program of New Jersey (CSPNJ) is subcontracted by DMHS to hire, train and mentor the Peer Recovery Specialists who work within the four state hospitals on this project. Their duties include providing debriefings for patients who have been subdued or restrained within the hospital.
Read the Full Article
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Consumer Connections Creates Certification Opportunities for Peers
 Consumer Connections, a program of the Mental Health Association in New Jersey, has designed its training curriculum to provide persons in recovery with the opportunity to earn up to four professional certifications. In partnership with The Certification Board, an independent nonprofit professional human services certifying board based in NJ, Consumer Connections established the Certified Health Assistant (CMHA) and the Peer Specialist (PEER) certifications.
The certifications require completion of a curriculum, supervised work experience, a supervised practicum, a required basic level of education (minimum of a GED) and life experience requirements, all of which are independently evaluated and approved by the certifying organization. In addition, there are two-year re-certification requirements of additional training (24 hours of related course work). Click here fore more information on certifications.
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Career Development - A Peer Perspective
by Peggy Swarbrick
Many of us have made a career in the mental health system on different levels. Many of us, including myself were first in the system as patients and then eventually worked our way into para-professional or professional roles within the mental health service delivery system.
My experience of pursuing a para-professional role occurred in the 1980s, so the route I chose was an Associates Degree program, during with I studied to be an occupational therapy assistant. Today specialist certificates and trainings provide opportunities for persons in recovery to gain entry to the workforce and assume many of the peer-designated or other para-professional roles that are available. Now, persons in recovery have opportunities to take part in specialized certificate programs that earn academic credit, such as UMDNJ's Psychiatric Rehabilitation Certificate, which counts towards undergraduate and graduate degrees. This
can also be a platform to help someone pursue other academic degrees, such as
psychology, social work, psychiatric rehabilitation, rehabilitation counseling,
occupational or recreational therapy, or even management and business degrees. Other trainings are also available through Consumer Connections.
Advanced trainings and educational opportunities provide a wonderful opportunity for persons in recovery to infiltrate the mental health system in all facets of service delivery. In future editions of this e-newsletter, we will highlight the many opportunities, challenge and resources available to assist people in terms of career development.
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Report Outlines Integration of Consumer Providers Into Services
The RAND Corporation has issued a report: Mental Health Consumer Providers: A Guide for Clinical Staff, that provides mental health provider agencies with a brief guide to implementing and sustaining a consumer provider component within their organization. Topics include; Benefits of Hiring Consumers, Best Practices in Implementing Consumer Provider Initiatives, Integration of Consumer Providers into Staff Culture, Opportunities for Consumer Provider Management Roles, and Barriers that Inhibit Consumer Provider Initiatives and Organizational and Structural Issues. This report is based on a literature survey and research conducted at the Lamp Community in Los Angeles, CA. This booklet is an good summary for staff and board members and it also provides resources for additional information and reading. Download the full report.
Consumer Connections is mentioned in the report as one of the nationally recognized programs training consumer providers.
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 Consumer Connections Supports our Veterans
Since 2005, Consumer Connections has been working with the Veterans Administration (VANJ) to provide training to its growing number of Peer Support Technicians working at Lyons and East Orange General Hospitals. Over the past three years, fifteen peers have participated in core, peer specialist, co-occurring and specialized trainings. In 2007, Charles Wuth, Workforce Development Coordinator and Vietnam Veteran, presented at a national VA Peer Conference in Chicago leading a workshop integrating WRAP into support services. In 2008, Consumer Connections began a monthly "Grand Rounds" in-service training for VA Peers. These presentations are broadcast throughout the Veterans Administration Northeast VSN of hospitals to their peer staff. This past December, Consumer Connections held a one-day specialized training for fifty NJ consumer providers that focused on engaging veterans in mental health services. Consumer Connections has played an important role in demonstrating to the VA the value of peer services. |
Important Peer Provider Links
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Peer Connections is produced by the MHANJ and CSPNJ.
It is edited by Robert Kley, MHANJ and Peggy Swarbrick, CSPNJ. Graphic Design by Renee Burawski and Lauren De Poto, MHANJ. For further information:peerconnections@mhanj.org
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