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HomeWestern State Hospital Internship Program   Blog   peer specialist
January 01 2016

Living with Mental Wellness

Author Susan Vaught Categories Blog, Continuing Education, Diversity In Practice, Information About Peer Specialists, Mental Health and Wellness, Resources for Interns 0 Comments

I have a group about living with mental illness on Wednesdays, and as a group, we decided to rename it to “Living with Mental Wellness.”  One of the things we discussed was taking the power away from our mental illnesses.  In the beginning, before, during, and right after diagnosis, mental illness can hijack our very existence.  We are basically just existing.  It is a routine of doctors’ visits, runs to the pharmacy, therapy, victories, and failures…lots of failures.

 

Once the medicine is balanced and a person is satisfied with his or her doctor, what comes next?  A person has been going to therapy a while, the medicine seems to be working, and overall, he or she is doing much better.  There are only so many hours a person can watch television without falling back into depression.  What was once time spent struggling to be healthy, is now a bunch of empty time, and the individual has no idea what to do, except isolate.

 

There comes a time, however, when it is possible to find that one thing that releases us.  To one man in the group, it was his grandson.  After his grandson was born, he found he had a reason to work harder toward making healthy choices.  Others in the group didn’t share exactly what their one thing was.  Maybe they didn’t have one yet.   It doesn’t have to be a person.  It doesn’t have to be a job.  It can be a pet.  It can be volunteering for a non-profit organization.  It could just be something like singing in the church choir.  If a person living with a mental illness can find something to fill all the square footage in their lives that the mental illness used to rent space in, changes can happen.

 

Rebecca Coursey, KPS
Peer Support Specialist

 

 

December 12 2015

Individual Autonomy and Peer Support

Author Susan Vaught Categories Blog, Information About Peer Specialists 0 Comments

 

 

This is a note from a personal perspective:

 

I have studied the Peer Support Training Manual from front to back.  I know the evidence-based practices involved.  It is something that I must practice daily so to override my instinctual reactions to people and issues.  I am a mother-er.  Even before I had kids, I was the mother-er to my friends.  You don’t have to be a mother to be like this.  You don’t even have to be female.  You are just the type of person who wants to fix things and people.

 

I have always been the one there to listen to problems.  The issue is that I want to put a bandage on everything and make it better.  I want to fix things.  I’m afraid if my son played football, I’d be the parent running on the field every time he was tackled saying, “Oh! Are you okay??” and embarrass him. Thankfully, he doesn’t play football.

 

Peer Support isn’t counseling and I’m not allowed to give a lot of advice.  The premise is to be an affective listener; it is to ask open-ended, honest questions.  Peer Support has to allow the individual the autonomy of choosing his or her own path.  Even if I am not sure that they are ready to work, if they say they want to work, I am to point them in directions where they can get more information, or just be their advocate.

 

If you are like me, you want to surround the person in bubble wrap and protect them from the world.   People, however, deserve the chance to live a “self-directed life.”  Parents, family, and mental health workers mean well when trying to protect the person from the world, but every human has a right to try to reach his or her own full potential…and to try to reach their dreams.

 

As a Peer Specialist, it has been tough not being able to just say, “Well, you can do this or that, and it would solve your problem!”  It has been tough not getting out my package of band aids to “fix” things.  It is hard not being able to “mother” or “parent” the patients, because I do care about them a great deal.  Every person deserves the ability to succeed or fail.  Everyone deserves a shot at flying from the nest.  It is a skill that I’ve had to learn.

 

Rebecca Coursey, KPS
Peer Support Specialist

July 07 2015

Ethics and Peer Support

Author Susan Vaught Categories Blog, Continuing Education, General Information, Information About Peer Specialists, Resources for Interns 0 Comments

A Kentucky Peer Support Specialist is not a clinical professional. The specialist goes through certification to perform the job, but that certification alone does not replace the years of studying and experience of therapists and psychologists. Although we are not clinical professionals by our certification alone, we still must follow ethical guidelines.

 

 

There are ethical violations that could cause conflict between the Peer Support Specialist, the patient, and the clinician.  One of these is medication suggestions.  The Peer Support Specialist, having a mental illness, has probably been on a lot of different kinds of medication.  In my case, the medication is working properly, but I must never disclose the type of medication I am on to the patient.  It can cause conflict between the patient and his or her psychiatrist.  Medication works differently for individuals.  Just because mine works, that does not mean it will stabilize someone else.

 

 

Another possible ethical violation is criticizing other clinical professionals around the patient.  This undermines the patient’s treatment.  It affects the patient’s ability to trust their doctor, which is important.   The Peer Specialist wants to avoid any negative talk about staff in general, unless it pertains to violations of a patient’s rights or safety. It is the Peer Specialist’s role to listen actively, so negative talk from the Specialist should not become a problem.

 

 

Accepting gifts, making promises one doesn’t keep, doing everything for them, and encouraging anger toward a family member or another person are other ways to cause possible harm in a Peer Support relationship.  Peer Support is a relationship between the Specialist and the patient based on mutual respect, and that respect includes the respect of other patients or those not present to defend themselves.  Although we aren’t “clinicians” so to speak, it is important to understand boundaries and conduct ourselves as professionals at all times.

 

 

I hope by this time, people have begun to get to know me a little as they’ve seen me with the patients.  It is a joy working with your patients, knowing that together we are truly making a difference in many lives.

 

 

Rebecca Coursey, KPS
Peer Support Specialist

 

June 06 2015

The Role of a Recovery Story in Peer Support

Author Susan Vaught Categories Continuing Education, Information About Peer Specialists, Mental Health and Wellness, Resources for Interns 0 Comments

The sharing of one’s “Recovery Story” is the foundation upon what the rest of peer support is built.  A Recovery Story is the telling of the personal journey the Peer Support Specialist has been on in order to reach the point of health and integration into the community, or whatever “recovery” means to that person.  A Recovery Story is different than a story about one’s illness.

 

BrightA story simply about one’s illness concentrates on the negative aspects of mental illness and only about the struggles.  A Recovery Story shares the challenges faced, sometimes the tragedies, at times the struggles with symptoms or diagnoses, but it leads to a point of positive conclusion.  A Recovery Story shared gives hope to another individual, and lets another person know that one should never give up on the possibilities that life has to offer.

 

I share parts of my story every day; I share the good and the bad experiences.  I share the tragedies and the triumphs.  I share what I did or how I reacted in certain circumstances.  I tell about the symptoms that I exhibited in the most difficult times of my illness.  Sharing this story puts the other person at ease and lets them know it is okay to open up and talk about their own experiences.  Every once in a while, it may give another person hope that it is not only possible to get better, but it is expected that they will eventually live a full and productive life.

 

Rebecca Coursey, KPS
Peer Support Specialist

 

May 05 2015

Compassion Fatigue

Author Susan Vaught Categories Blog, Information About Peer Specialists, Mental Health and Wellness, Resources for Interns 0 Comments

As a Peer Support Specialist, I have to be very cautious about taking care of myself.  Yes, I am in recovery, but I am not cured. I still have what is considered a serious mental illness.  If I were to forget to take my medication for a few days or go without sleep, the symptoms of Bipolar could return.  Stress is also a major factor.  Therapy while working in a full-time job position is very important to my health.

 

I recently attended a conference for Peer Support Specialists across the state.  I attended a workshop entitled, “Compassion Fatigue.”  Occupations in which people must work with those who are experiencing trauma can experience this.  Emergency room nurses, mental health clinicians, social workers, Peer Support Specialists, and other fields in which compassion is a constant job requirement can experience Compassion Fatigue.  One woman told her story of such an experience.

 

Some of the symptoms of this fatigue, according to the Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project, are “apathy, bottled up emotions, substance abuse, and isolation from others.” In an organization or institution, the fatigue can result in:

  • High absenteeism
  • Constant changes in co-workers relationships
  • Inability for teams to work well together
  • Desire among staff members to break company rules
  • Outbreaks of aggressive behaviors among staff
  • Inability of staff to complete assignments and tasks
  • Inability of staff to respect and meet deadlines
  • Lack of flexibility among staff members
  • Negativism towards management
  • Strong reluctance toward change
  • Inability of staff to believe improvement is possible
  • Lack of a vision for the future

 

When I first began seeing my therapist, he said I came into his office in terrible shape.  The point is…I got better, but it took work.  Therapy is awesome and I think anyone can benefit.  I definitely have, and I talk about how it helped me to my peers, (the patients), in the hospital.

 

Rebecca Coursey, KPS
Peer Support Specialist

 

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