From Recovery to Discovery Mental Health Peer Support Group

Reflecting on the Finding Your Voice Workshop 

Thursday, November 24th, 2016

6:30pm to 8:30pm 

           

Community Room

Atlantic Superstore – Barrington Street

1075 Barrington Street

Halifax, Nova Scotia

The From Recovery to Discovery Mental Health Peer Support Group is open to anyone affected, either directly or indirectly, by any type of mental illness, and this includes family members and friends.

Free!

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Thursday, November 24th, 2016, 6:30 pm

Reflecting on the Finding Your Voice Workshop

Earlier this fall Healthy Minds Cooperative offered a 6 week workshop called “Finding Your Voice” which was about “…working on creating and  sharing our Recovery story. The program focussed on exploring  life experiences in a safe  and supportive environment, with the intention of  building confidence to allow one to share their story  with family, friends or even a wider audience, if they so desire.”

Alan McGrath, part-time facilitator with FR2D, led these workshops and this week he, along with 2 of the participants, will be sharing their experiences with us and perhaps providing a roadmap for us to Find our Own Voice

Sign up for weekly email notices for FR2D here:  http://bit.ly/29O1hFP

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About the From Recovery to Discovery Mental Health Peer Support Group

The From Recovery to Discovery (FR2D) Mental Health Peer Support Group is special because it moves beyond the expectation of simply existing with minimal symptoms of mental illness.  Our message is that we all have the opportunity to manifest our strengths, to recover a sense of empowerment, and to live with meaning and purpose.  Through the mutual sharing of our own wisdom and experience, we are reminded to reach for hope and fulfillment in our lives, and to help one another realize our potential.

                                                                               

The FR2D Mental Health Peer Support Group is open to anyone living with any type of mental illness or mental health problem.  There is no cost to attend.  The meeting format generally involves an interactive presentation on topics of interest to the group in the first hour, and a group discussion during the second hour. 

The FR2D Mental Health Peer Support Group's meeting flyer (PDF) can be downloaded by clicking here.

If you have any questions, or would like more information, please contact:

Todd MacMillan, Operations Support, Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, by phoning 902-465-2601 (toll free 1-800-465-2601) or sending an email to todd@ssns.ca; or

Laura Burke, Peer Support Facilitator, Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, by sending an email tocontact@ssns.ca.

From Recovery to Discovery Mental Health Peer Support Group

A Summer Picnic

Thursday, September 1, 2016

6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Community Room

Atlantic Superstore – Barrington Street

1075 Barrington Street

Halifax, Nova Scotia

The From Recovery to Discovery Mental Health Peer Support Group is open to anyone affected, either directly or indirectly, by any type of mental illness.

Free!

Thursday, September 1, 2016, 6:30 pm 

A Summer Picnic at Cornwallis Park in Halifax

Everyone Welcome!

Please note: We will meet in the Community room at the Superstore at 6:30pm and head over to the nearby Park together as a group.

You are invited to the From Recovery to Discovery Mental Health Peer Support Group’s Summer Picnic at Cornwallis Park in Halifax (corner of Barrington Street and South Street).  Come and enjoy some relaxing sunshine, informal peer support, and wonderful sandwiches.  Water and soft drinks will also be provided.  If you play a musical instrument, please bring it along!  In the case of rain, the picnic will be held indoors in the Community Room at the Atlantic Superstore - Barrington Street, 1075 Barrington Street, Halifax.

Sign up for weekly email notices for FR2D here:  http://bit.ly/29O1hFP

---

About the From Recovery to Discovery Mental Health Peer Support Group

The From Recovery to Discovery (FR2D) Mental Health Peer Support Group is special because it moves beyond the expectation of simply existing with minimal symptoms of mental illness.  Our message is that we all have the opportunity to manifest our strengths, to recover a sense of empowerment, and to live with meaning and purpose.  Through the mutual sharing of our own wisdom and experience, we are reminded to reach for hope and fulfillment in our lives, and to help one another realize our potential.

                                                                               

The FR2D Mental Health Peer Support Group is open to anyone living with any type of mental illness or mental health problem.  There is no cost to attend.  The meeting format generally involves an interactive presentation on topics of interest to the group in the first hour, and a group discussion during the second hour. 

The FR2D Mental Health Peer Support Group's meeting flyer (PDF) can be downloaded by clicking here.

If you have any questions, or would like more information, please contact:

Todd MacMillan, Resource Advisor, Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, by phoning 902-465-2601 (toll free 1-800-465-2601) or sending an email to todd@ssns.ca; or

Laura Burke, Peer Support Facilitator, Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia, by sending an email to contact@ssns.ca.

MHCC Webinar on Formalized Peer Support: The Road to Recovery

Also see:

Peer Support Accreditation and Certification (Canada)

Mental Health Commission of Canada

Nova Scotia Certified Peer Specialist Program

Webcast Recording - The Nova Scotia Certified Peer Support Specialist Program by Roy Muise

National Conference on Peer Support - Halifax, Nova Scotia

Wednesday, April 30th, to Friday, May 2, 2014

Please click on the image to magnify it.

For further information, please visit: http://www.psac-canada.com/ncps/

Nova Scotia Certified Peer Support Specialist Program

From the Healthy Minds Cooperative's May 2012 newsletter:

It's Official

The Department of Health and Wellness has chosen Healthy Minds Cooperative to oversee the advancement of the Nova Scotia Certified Peer Support Specialist Program!

Healthy Minds Cooperative has demonstrated a long term commitment and belief in peer support since our inception in 2005. We believe peer support is an integral component of recovery for people living with mental illness. Our organization has been a pioneer in delivering formal peer support on inpatient units since 2006. This ground breaking work was happening at a time when peer support was virtually unknown. It is incredible to know that beginning in 2013 it will now be available in health districts across our province.

We extend a sincere welcome to Roy Muise, the Peer Mentor for the NSCPSS program as part of our Healthy Minds team. Well known and respected Roy brings his extensive work with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, work with PSACC, a vast knowledge of peer support and many years’ experience delivering peer support. Joining Roy in this exciting work will be Vince Daigle who has 7 years’ experience providing formal peer support on an inpatient unit, Michael Smith and Irene Skehen. Together the entire Healthy Minds team possess unique and valuable skills that amount to about 40 years’ experience working in the field of mental health. When you add the soon to be newly certified peer specialists, that will be delivering peer support to every health district in the province to this team there is no doubt that there will be hope and recovery for many. The Department of Health and Wellness is committed to improving the mental health and wellness of all Nova Scotians. They listened to the people of Nova Scotia and developed the first ever mental health strategy for our province. Thanks to their vision and support the reality of individuals having access to peer support will expand and become a reality across our province.

Also see:

Nova Scotia Certified Peer Support Specialist Program

Healthy Minds Cooperative

Peer Support Accreditation and Certification (Canada) [PSACC]

N.S. puts $1 million into mental health program

Laing House Virtual Tour

Also see:

Laing House

Recovery and Respect - Dr. Frank Shelp

Text accompanying the video:

Respect and recovery from a mental illness are inextricably linked, said Dr. Frank Shelp, Georgia's Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. Dr. Shelp was addressing the 20th annual conference of the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network at St. Simons Island, August 2011.

Also see:

RESPECT International: Joel Slack

RESPECT International

The History of the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network: Larry Fricks

Peer-Run Employment Supports - Benefits, Roles, and Opportunities: George Brice

Visions for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities: Dr. Frank Shelp

Delaware Psychiatric Center to undergo overhaul

An article posted online on July 7th by The News Journal:

State, federal officials agree to five-year reform plan at state mental hospital

By Beth Miller and Esteban Parra

Delaware will revamp its state psychiatric hospital over the next five years, transforming it from a dysfunctional and sometimes-abusive warehouse for the mentally ill into an integrated mental health system that includes community life and vastly expanded support systems, according to terms of a settlement announced Wednesday by state and federal officials.

The ambitious agreement reached Tuesday ends a three-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and arrives almost four years to the day after a News Journal investigation that revealed rape, assault and other abuse of patients, exaggerated overtime expenses and threats and retaliation against staff members who reported violations.

It would put an end to long-term institutionalization of those with mental illnesses, steering state resources and support instead to community services and residential settings, providing customized support to keep people out of institutions and help those who can leave such settings do so.

Gov. Jack Markell and Rita Landgraf [pictured], secretary of the state Department of Health and Social Services, said the agreement includes expanded community service, housing, supported employment opportunities, a statewide crisis team that -- by January -- will respond to a person in crisis anywhere in the state within one hour, intensive case management and a network of trained peer support specialists who understand mental illness by experience.


SETTLEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

Delaware must:

• Offer community-based services to prevent unnecessary institutionalization of those with serious, persistent mental illness

• Develop a statewide crisis system, including a crisis hotline, mobile crisis response teams, walk-in centers, stabilization services (short-term inpatient care, with stays no longer than 14 days) and crisis apartments

• Provide intensive support services and case management

• Provide housing, with supports including rental subsidies or vouchers, and assurances that new housing created under the settlement terms will include no more than 20 percent of units occupied by those with a disability, to prevent isolation

• Provide supported employment and rehabilitation services

• Provide family and peer support

• Develop transition plans for each individual now in or being admitted to an institutional setting

• Publish annual reports identifying the number of people served in each type of service, with evaluation of unmet needs and quality of services

• Accept a court-appointed monitor to review and report on state compliance, issuing public reports at least twice a year, settling disputes and offering recommendations

• Meet timeline requirements from January 2012 to July 2016

To read the entire article, please click here.

Also see:

State wins in Delaware Psychiatric Center deal

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Peer support: what is it and what makes it different?

An article posted July 4th on the Scottish Recovery Network (SRN) website:

In a specially commissioned article for SRN, international author, trainer and peer support expert Shery Mead [pictured] talks about some of the distinct features of the peer relationship and considers implications for practice. Shery is the keynote speaker at the forthcoming Experts by Experience conference being held in Perth on 21st September 2011.

Peer support is becoming an established practice in mental health. It is being used in informal settings as well as in hospitals and other services. But what is it about peer relationships that make them different to just having a good friend or for that matter another service worker? I will talk in this article about some of the distinct features of the role of peer support and implications for practice.

Peer Support is not new. As long as there have been people on earth, they have come together around shared experience to learn from each other. In mental health we have added a more formal layer to peer support by making it a specific role that is often paid. This is where it may get confusing. In paid peer support you and I come together to learn from each other (like some friendships) but you (the paid peer support worker) actually need to practice a few things.

After many years’ experience working and writing in the field of peer support, I’ve produced the following guide for prospective and active peer workers to some of the core principles of peer support practice:

1. Learning vs Help

In the best of all worlds we are altruistic, compassionate beings. We don’t like to see others suffering or in pain, and we want to make a difference. All too often, however, these beliefs and desires get in the way of building deeper understanding between people and can actually thwart learning and growth. When we go into a relationship with the intention of helping or even assisting or supporting we go in with some kind of agenda about you and your “problems.” Perhaps I know a little bit about you from some of my colleagues and before I’ve even met you I decide who you are and what you need. Even if I don’t know anything about you, when my attention is focused on helping we may well end up in a power struggle.

Instead, most people hope that we’ll learn more about them and how they’ve learned to make sense of their experience, learn about the cultural conditions that maintain their reality, and most importantly, what their ideas are about what might make a difference. Then – and only then – are they willing to understand or listen to where we’re coming from. Learning together takes time; it’s about building relationships where new information and new knowledge can emerge.

2. Focusing on the relationship vs. focusing on the individual

Paying attention to the relationship is an altogether different phenomenon. It’s a bit like a dance or a jazz band where the sum of the parts is greater than all the individuals added together. It is not about playing the right notes (saying the right thing), it’s actually being fully present to the other (listening for the story, the context of the story, what’s unspoken in terms of feelings and meaning) and then responding not with the answers but intuitively, creatively bringing something that is both authentically you AND that is also from the place where you connect with the other person to the conversation. This flow of increased mutual understanding, as well as generation of new meaning, is the goal of peer support. And so we seek to discover what goes into building this type of conversation.

One of the keys is giving up the idea of pre-determined outcomes (such as goals or symptom-reduction) and instead, learning to think laterally about the quality of our relationship. For example, instead of trying to persuade, seeking to understand, reflecting on our responses, and then speaking authentically from the heart what seems most important to us to contribute.

3. Responding out of hope vs. reacting out of fear

Let’s face it, when we feel frightened we do whatever we know how to alleviate the fear or the discomfort. We even go so far as to try to prevent situations that might potentially be uncomfortable. In peer support, as in the rest of community, this translates into coercion – subtle or otherwise.

Fear reactions come in all forms -- from avoiding, persuading, and knowing what’s best, to controlling, assessing and force. These reactions are hardwired by our animal instincts as well as from cultural norms that reinforce difference as dangerous (e.g. people from cultures different from our own). Fear has even influenced how we think about safety and has left us anxious about what’s not safe rather than comfortable with creating our own sense of safety.

This is where the idea of hope comes in. In order to sit with the discomfort of a difficult situation we must have some hope that something interesting or even positive will come out of going right through the middle of it. We may not know what that is (trying to control the outcome would be a fear based response) but gradually begin to trust that there is learning in our discomfort. This learning then creates possibilities that give us options – options that didn’t exist when our goal was just to get through this frightening time.

While these principles are just a basic outline of what peer support might encompass, they give us a chance to reflect on what factors contribute to making it unique. As we build these skills across a paid workforce of peers we actually increase our ability to self reflect on all our relationships and what makes them work. In doing this we’re working towards social change. Maybe, at the end of that day, that is a role for peer support.

Find out more about the Experts by Experience conference, including how to register.

Find out more about SRN's work on peer support.

Also see:

Defining Peer Support

Mental Health Commission of Canada Peer Project

An email received on June 8th from the Mental Health Commission of Canada's Peer Project Team Leader (pictured):

Subject: Communiqué about the Peer Project – Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC)

Following the April 2011 Peer Project update, many of you expressed interest in participating in a Webinar session to discuss how to preserve the natural, organic way in which grass-roots peer support has functioned, as we develop a certification process for peer support.

We decided to consult members of the Peer community to help plan for this event. During our discussions, we talked about the format of the Webinar, possible panelists were identified and the most beneficial means for participants to have an open discussion was determined.

It was important for us to organize this Webinar in a way where the issue was treated in a responsible and respectful manner. It was clear from the two groups we engaged with that panelists should rapidly present varying views on the issue but that the majority of the time allocated for this Webinar be at the disposal of participants, allowing a healthy dialog to take place.

We invite you to participate in one of the following events:

• Tuesday June 28th at 1:00pm EST

• Wednesday June 29th at 1:00pm EST

The Webinar will be structured with two panelists each presenting views on the issue for 10 minutes followed by a 40 minute moderated discussion where all participants will be invited to the dialogue. Both sessions will be organised in the same fashion and host the same panelists and the presentations during each session will be the same. Following the sessions, participants will have access to the content of both Webinars and have the opportunity to provide further input.

Our panelists:

Joan Edwards-Karmazyn, Executive Director with the National Network for Mental Health;

Diana Capponi, Employment Works Coordinator for Center for Addictions and Mental Health; and

John Massam, Peer Support Program Coordinator, Coast Mental Health.

Our moderator:

Karen Liberman, Executive Director, Mood Disorders Association of Ontario

* Biographies of the panelists will follow shortly

At this time, we request that you sign-up for one of the webinar sessions by Friday, June 24th. In order to ensure maximum participation and entertain a good dialogue, we will host 20 people per Webinar and we are prepared to hold additional Webinars if required, to accommodate all participants. Please indicate clearly which session you would like to attend.

Joining instructions, panelist and moderator biographies will follow shortly.

Thank you very much for your interest in participating in this very important part of the process.

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Report backs development of peer support worker role

A news release issued today by the Scottish Recovery Network:

An independent evaluation of peer support worker pilot schemes in five Health Board areas has recommended further roll out of the role at the same time as making recommendations for future implementation.

The research report, which was commissioned by the Scottish Government and carried out by the Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health in partnership with the Universities of Edinburgh and Stirling, includes a number of key findings:

• The peer worker role was successfully piloted in a number of settings but worked best where services were open to recovery focused working.

• Peer workers were welcomed by service users who reported high levels of satisfaction.

• There were challenges for peer workers in adapting to their new roles.

• Peer workers were able to bridge the ‘them and us’ divide between service users and professionals.

• Peer workers roles complement mental health teams with new skills and knowledge.

Recommendations include:

• Peer support workers should be treated the same as any other employee in relation to terms and conditions.

• Standardisation of a core peer support worker job description.

• Peer support workers should be formally trained.

• Workers should only be placed in supportive environments as a way to enhance, but not introduce, recovery.

• Room should be left for peer support workers and their colleagues to develop the role gradually but systematically.
  

• Providing guidance that can be used by local employers to raise awareness of the role.

The pilot schemes were developed as a result of a commitment in Delivering for Mental Health. The Scottish Recovery Network has been supporting the development of the peer support role and will continue to play a role in its promotion and implementation.

As part of our commitment we are working with the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) to develop accredited awards and learning materials to further support the training of future peer support workers. We will also be working to develop guidelines to support the implementation of peer worker roles.

Summary of Evaluation of the Delivering for Mental Health Peer Support Worker Pilot Scheme (94.84 kB)

Evaluation of the Delivering for Mental Health Peer Support Worker Pilot Scheme (666.04 kB)

the Self-Help Connection

From the Health Promotion Clearinghouse website:

Profile of the Month

July's Profile is the Self-Help Connection - It is a non-profit registered organization established in 1987 to assist Nova Scotians to take control of their health by increasing their knowledge, skills, and resources for individual and collective action. The Self-Help Connection has received national recognition as a 'Mental Health Best Practice Program' from the Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Advisory Network on Mental Health for self-help and consumer initiatives.

The Consumer Initiative Centre is a program of the Self-Help Connection launched in 2002 and is funded by the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Department of Community Services.

To visit the Self-Help Connection Clearinghouse Association's website, click here.

Note:
The purpose of the Consumer Initiative Centre is to increase the capacity of persons living with, through, and beyond mental illness to help themselves and each other move forward.

It is a provincial program that provides peer support, computer training, entrepreneurship / employability enhancement, and assistance with personal development.

Phone 404-7800 or 1-866-765-6639 (toll-free) for more information.