We’ve heard the statement “Nothing about us without us!” but do you know the many
activists’ stories behind it? Author Phyllis Vine will discuss the sweeping history of activist
movements in grossly underserved and misunderstood mental health communities. Hear
stories of former psychiatric patients, families, and courageous activists within government and
psychiatry who rebelled against inhumane and outdated treatments and policies and created
the path that we are on today. Since the middle of the last century, people with a lived
experience have upended conventional beliefs that deterioration was inevitable. With an
abiding pursuit of choice, they opposed the use of force and built a movement with innovative
service options. They focused on person-centered needs, the development of skills with respect
for strengths, and situated their work within broad-based fights for equity and social justice.
 

Learning Objectives:

• List 4-5 leaders who worked and organized to create peer services.

• Identify 3-4 historic locations of peer services and alternatives to institutionalization.

• List the 4 principles of recovery championed by leaders that have led the movement.

• Describe a call to action for today using the historical context of the movement.

This webinar aims to share tools and strategies for peer supporters and peer programs to partner with college administrators to build robust and successful peer support programs within campuses and universities. Historically educational institutions have not been connected to the peer support movement and values of peer support. This webinar will address these gaps and provide insight into barriers and opportunities for peer support in higher education as well as example successful programs. 

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Learning Objectives:

• Review findings and recommendations from the Document Peer Support in College Mental Health Initiatives: Learning From The Peer Support Movement

• Learn pathways for peer supporters and peer organizations to work with colleges to enhance the success of Peer Support Programs

• Identify the limitations and resistance to the growth of peer support within college campuses while exploring ideas for addressing barriers and overcoming limitations

SAMHSA collaborated with federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local partners including peer
specialists to develop the National Model Standards for Peer Support Certification, inclusive of
substance use, mental health, and family peer certifications. These National Model Standards
closely align with the needs of the behavioral health (peer) workforce, and subsequently, the
over-arching goal of the national mental health strategy. This webinar will outline the findings
in the report.
 

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the process for creating the National Model Standards for Peer Support Certification

• List 4-5 benefits to the peer workforce of the National Model Standards for Peer Support Certification

• Name the newly announced 11 Model Standards

This webinar will emphasize the importance of planning for the distribution of your personal assets upon your death and the strategies and tools that can be used to ensure that your “final wishes” are followed.
 

Many peers are unaware of or simply avoid estate planning and the drafting and execution of a Last Will and Testament. You don’t have to be rich and have lots of assets for you and your loved ones to benefit from you discussing and preparing a will.

Learning Objectives:

• Demystify the terminology used when discussing wills

• Highlight at least 2 of the short- and long-term values of preparing and executing a will

• Identify legal and other community-based organizations that can provide resources and legal assistance in identifying assets and drafting a will

• Discuss strategies that peer support staff can use in educating and empowering peers to engage in estate planning

Vermont is poised to become the 49th state to adopt a statewide peer support certification program, after overcoming resistance from individuals and organizations concerned about the potential co-opting of peer support values within the biomedical model. Join us for a fascinating webinar led by psychiatric survivor, Wilda White, as she discusses Vermont's path to peer support certification. Learn how the program aligns with peer support values, its history, and its potential to transform the mental health system. Don't miss out on the opportunity to discover how Vermont's approach is on track to deliver the most authentic peer support certification program in the country.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the core peer support values that peer certification puts at risk.

• Devise strategies to maintain fidelity to authentic mental health peer support in a statewide peer certification program.

• Create a public stakeholder engagement process that ensures diverse and robust participation and delivers consensus around the design of a statewide mental health peer support certification program.

When it comes to youth peer support, there needs to be clearer pathways that increase access to these services. We at Youth MOVE PA are striving to make these services more readily available throughout our state. We also believe that training and education are crucial steps to ensuring that Pennsylvania’s Youth have an opportunity to learn about Peer Support as a career pathway and to embrace resiliency and empowerment in their own lives. To address this statewide need, The Copeland Center and Youth MOVE PA have joined together in bringing a new training model to schools and communities throughout the Commonwealth. The Peer Generation Youth Empowerment Training model focuses on strategies for resiliency and offers pathways for individuals to get in touch with their unique and authentic selves. Participants experience an environment that is culturally grounded and focuses on practical ways to be inclusive toward the diversity of all communities and experiences. Individuals will also become better equipped to practice peer support in real life situations that could be easily implemented at school, home, or in their community.



Learning Objectives:​

• Explore definitions, evidence for and values of peer support

• Identify the need for youth peer support and national recommendations

• Learn about models for peer support within school settings

This webinar will explore how to maintain personal integrity and professional ethics in regards to conflict in the workplace. It will present real-life scenarios and strategies to resolve each specific conflict. 



Learning Objectives:

• Describe 2 strategies for navigating different levels of power.

• Identify 4 ways most people handle conflict.

• List the 4 steps to the process of PCI for resolving conflict.

This webinar will explore the journey Project Return Peer Support Network, a peer-run organization in
Southern CA, has taken to empower the peer workforce through the utilization of trainings from a
values-based peer perspective, modeling, and sharing of our lived experience. Further, it will look at
how being values-based is empowering to our staff, trainees, members, and the community at large.
 

Learning Objectives:

• Define what it means to be values-based in peer support work

• List at least 3 ways to put the value of hope in action

• Summarize the history of training and the evolution into the CAPS Academy or PRPSN Training Institute.

This webinar will address the questions: What is it Peer Support Specialists do that is so different from other mental health professionals? And how do supervisors provide guidance and support to the Peer Support Specialists they manage? 

Learning Objectives:

• List 2-3 ways to use the Code of Ethics for Peer Support Specialists (CA) to help guide supervision practices

• Identify 3-4 benefits of providing supportive supervision to Peer Support Specialists

• Explain the difference between being a supportive supervisor and becoming a Peer Support Specialists' supporter

As peer supporters, we strive to support people to start where they are at and from their own experience. It is our role and responsibility to not overtly or subtly put our perspectives over others. Wellness and recovery are self-directed and can take many different paths. However, as peer supporters, we may feel conflicts with those perspectives. This webinar will explore strategies and skills to help us navigate differing perspectives, our own judgements, and support us to meet people where they are at.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify at least 3 ways you see perspectives conflicts show up in your life/work

• List 2-3 skills for developing self-awareness

• Develop at least 3 action plans for managing your own judgements

The Peer Internship Program helps prepare dedicated individuals to explore and step into their role as Certified Peer Recovery Specialists. In Delaware, certification is for individuals with lived experience of mental illness, addiction, co-occurring conditions, AND recovery. As Interns, those with “Lived Experience” work closely in the Mental Health Care field to receive valuable professional experience, training, and networking opportunities.  The skills and training learned strengthen that individual with the necessary tools to be successfully prepared in this career path. Learn about one program and how it is benefiting their community. 

Learning Objectives:

• Identify 2-3 reasons why this program was originated and eligibility requirements

• Define the differences between The Peer Internship Program vs the traditional method of becoming Peer Certified in Delaware 

• Recall at least 3 benefits, outcomes and lessons learned throughout this process

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are commonplace in many organizations. With the changing demographics of the United States, organizations need to have workers that represent the communities they serve. Studies have shown that when it comes to DEI initiatives, the one demographic that is the most often left out or an afterthought is those with disabilities. This is especially true for those with invisible disabilities. With over 61 million Americans having a physical or mental disability, it is important that peer supporters have a seat at the table when DEI initiatives are crafted. This webinar will provide an overview of diversity, equity, & inclusion, how we can respond when faced with microaggressions, and five ways that peer supporters can be change agents for DEI initiatives. 

Learning Objectives:

• Recall an overview of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

• Identify microaggressions and at least 3 ways to respond to them.

• Identify 5 ways peer supporters can be change agents for DEI initiatives.

The growing number of places people go to for information has made it easier for health misinformation to spread at a never-before-seen speed and scale. Misinformation spreads especially easily on social media and online retail sites, as well as via search engines. Together, we have the power to build a healthier information environment.

This webinar will introduce The Surgeon General’s Community Toolkit for Addressing Health Misinformation which provides specific guidance and resources for health care providers, educators, and trusted community members to understand, identify, and stop the spread of health misinformation.

Learning Objectives:

• Define what health misinformation is.

• Identify 5 reasons why people are susceptible to being influenced by health misinformation and why it is so tempting to share it.

• List 3-4 best practices for talking to peers about health misinformation.

In February of 2021 with a small grant from the local health authority, the NW Instituto Latino de Adicciones (NWIL), opened the first and still only one of its kind culturally and linguistically specific Recovery Community Organization for Latinos in Oregon. This project was the culmination of years of hard work by a dedicated group of volunteer Latinx recovery support professionals (Counselors, Peers, Case Managers) that shared one mission, to better meet the specific recovery needs of the Latino community in Oregon. Success was not ensured, but within 7 weeks of opening the Recovery Drop-In Center had 14 culturally and linguistically specific mutual aid/support groups, had over 900 visitors come through the door, had engaged over 32 clients in formal recovery support/peer mentoring, and had become a hub for the Latino recovery community in the area. This presentation will talk about how we did what we did, what we learned about launching this project, and what we think can help others launch similar projects.  

Learning Objectives:

• Define what a Recovery Community Organization is.

• List the 3 most important questions to ask before setting up a culturally specific Recovery Community Organization.

• List 3 keys to ongoing sustainability.  

In this webinar, Amey Dettmer, a national leader in peer support, will share about her own personal journey through recovery and peer support. This presentation will be a general overview of peer support throughout the nation. In 2020, a SAMHSA Behavioral Health Workforce report called for a 4693% increase of peer supporters throughout the behavioral health workforce. This webinar will explain why there is such a demand for peer support and how this evidence-based practice transforms the ways healing can occur in our communities and for those receiving services. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Describe at least 3 models for peer support in behavioral health systems

• List 3-4 approaches for peer support implementation and growing peer support accessibility

• Define what peer support is and why it is recognized as an evidenced-based practice

Come explore the role of peer support in pain care, and how peer-delivered services can be an essential part of promoting positive outcomes and holistic wellbeing for individuals living with pain.

The Oregon Health Authority’s valuable Pain Education toolkit addresses the key topics of pain care. Peer support specialists - as trained peer-delivered service providers with lived experience - are uniquely qualified to offer innovative support across topic areas to individuals on their pain journey and in recovery.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the foundations of peer-delivered services and their relevance to pain care

• Identify at least 4 ways in which peer support can promote wellbeing and recovery while challenging stigma and changing the conversation about pain

• Explore the value and role of lived experience and peer support in the realm of pain care as demonstrated through an innovative Oregon project

This webinar is designed as an overview from a national level of ethics as they pertain to peer specialists around the country. Some state specifics will be discussed as information is available. It will cover how to draw on our ethical knowledge to navigate common difficult situations facing peer specialists.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe 3-4 ethics for providing peer services to individuals within the behavioral health system.

• Compare and contrast ethics we value personally, organizationally, statewide, and nationally.

• List 3-4 best practices for resolving common ethical concerns.

Join us for this presentation on finding where you thrive at work and how to motivate others to seek out meaningful work. Peer specialists will be engaged to reflect on your own experience with employment and learn ways to share that experience with others. 

Learning Objectives:

• Define meaningful work

• List 3-4 ways to support others in discovering meaningful work

• Describe 3-4 keys to wellbeing at work

• Discuss how to share our journey to employment to support others in their journey

Reclaiming Employment(TM) is an interactive virtual platform that provides self-employment education and support for people with mental health-related challenges around work. It was designed by Live & Learn, Inc., based on research and personal experiences with business development, to empower peers to start and sustain self-employment. This webinar will walk attendees through the platform, explain its conceptual development and offerings, and show how peers seeking to pursue self-employment can access support.
 

Learning Objectives:

• Summarize what Reclaiming Employment(TM) offers and why it was created.

• List at least 3 common concerns and challenges in self-employment, and methods for addressing them.

• Learn about opportunities to get involved in business training.

Using the presenter’s personal journey of working to get off of disability benefits after 20 years for permanent full-time employment, this webinar discusses the importance of community inclusion for peers with mental health challenges. Sometimes stigma, community mental health care, and lack of self-confidence can make community participation more difficult for people with mental health challenges. However, community inclusion is key to being well, getting well, and staying well.

Learning Objectives:

• State the definition of Community Inclusion.

• Describe how Community Inclusion benefits everyone, including community members with disabilities.

• List at least 3 obstacles to Community Inclusion and 3 ways peer specialists can navigate those obstacles.

This webinar will explore peer support that offers compassionate non-judgmental listening and problem-solving support to older adults who may be experiencing loneliness, social isolation, and loss of loved ones. Older adults face transitions in their lives including lifestyle changes, employment/career changes, physical and mental health challenges. Peer supporters are uniquely skilled to help older adults through these many transitions. 

Learning Objectives

• Identify 4 primary challenges of providing peer support for older adults

• List at least 4 strategies for engaging older adults with peer support

• Describe how using curiosity as a tool works to create peer support connections with older adults

Collaboration is an important skill to use in the workplace. This training will highlight the successful collaboration between the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities and the Bridgehaven Center for Peer Excellence. At the end of this training, participants will have a better understanding of the strategies needed for a successful collaboration.

Learning Objectives:

• Define the meaning of collaboration

• Understand the importance of collaboration to accomplish partnership and team goals

• Discuss seven skills for effective collaboration

As Autumn arrives, we move inward, becoming aware of what is really needed to care for ourselves and those around us. It is essential for those of us who take care of others to spend some time taking care of ourselves first. For peer specialists, this webinar will explore changing self-care to fit the season, applying techniques that foster a positive attitude, and engaging others in ways that support wellness.

Learning Objectives:

• Understanding self-care adjustments need to be made when seasons change.

• Checking the forecast for the season with a positive attitude.

• Developing new support systems as we remember the power of human connections.

As peer specialists, how we communicate and the language we use at work is important and is connected to our own wellness. We tend to compromise our overall well-being while in conversations with others, and sometimes with ourselves, because: it is (a) easier, (b) based on fear and discomfort, or (c) what we are taught is the "right" thing to do. We will explore how we can implement healthy boundaries at work, how and when to speak up, and to shift our thinking from doubt to confidence.

Learning Objectives:

• Exploring other options to say "no" without saying "no."

• Learning to shift our mindset to keep us open to creativity, possibility, and productivity.

• ​Identifying passive language and transform it to active language. 

How are peer support services and peer experiences used to help individuals with mental health challenges become employed and retain their jobs? What supports and opportunities exist for people with psychiatric disabilities to enhance their education or build a career, whether through GED, college, or developing vocational or trade skills?  Join this webinar to hear about evidence-based practices, peer support services, learnings from the field, and personal stories that illustrate the multiple ways peer support specialists and peers can provide valuable support to assist those with psychiatric disabilities find meaningful work, engage in education, and build upon their recovery journeys.

Learning Objectives:

• List at least 3 evidence based practices and strategies to support people in their employment goals

• Discuss evidence-based practices and strategies to support people in their education goals

• Identify barriers to employment and education, and discuss ways peer specialists can help to overcome them

• Understand different paths to employment and education through lived experience perspectives

Join us for a webinar where you can learn what post-traumatic growth and resilience are and how resilience and post-traumatic growth impact interactions in a group environment. The session will support participants in developing skills and identifying tools that foster post-traumatic growth in group environments.

Learning Objectives:

• Define what post-traumatic growth and resilience are.

• List five signs of post-traumatic growth.

• Name at least three tools that support post-traumatic growth within peer groups.

After a year of COVID-19 precautions, the world is opening up again. Individuals have different feelings about what that means in their lives and some are more hesitant to return to normal and to be around people more regularly. As peer specialists, how do we support our populations in reintegrating to the outdoors after a year?

Learning Objectives:

• Describe common feelings on the transition to fewer COVID-19 restrictions that may be getting in the way of full community participation.

• List at least 3 tools for supporting others to emerge from COVID-19 restrictions and protocols.

• List at least 3 tools for self-care during this time as a peer specialist. 

In this webinar, we will explore the dynamics of establishing healthy personal and professional boundaries through communication skills. The webinar will go over strategies and tools to maintain healthy boundaries between peer specialists and peers receiving services. 

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the connection between communication and boundaries.

• List at least 3 ways to maintain professional boundaries through intentional communication.

• Name at least 3 ways to maintain healthy personal boundaries.

This webinar is designed for transition-aged youth peer professionals between the ages of 18-25 who are looking to gain work, life, and wellness balance as they navigate adulthood and the workplace. 

Learning Objectives:

• List at least 3 methods to use to self-advocate when dealing with difficult situations and people

• State 2 ways to maintain boundaries and communicate needs

• Identify what work environment is best for you and your wellbeing

• How to prioritize wellness despite work demands 

Join SPARK (Students Providing and Receiving Knowledge) for a webinar on how Washington State is encouraging youths (17–26-year-olds) to explore careers as Certified Peer Counselors. This program, started at New Horizons Alternative High School in Pasco, WA, has partnered with Washington Health Care Authority to help build workforce development of youth peer counselors and provide access to the 40-hour Certified Peer Counselor (CPC) training after graduation.

Learning Objectives:

• List at least 3 benefits of having youth Certified Peer Counselors in the workforce

• Describe 3 lessons learned for program improvement from the first three cohorts of students

• Discuss the importance of apprenticeships in preparing youth for the workforce including engagement with youth of color and youth that are incarcerated.

Creating a safe learning environment for support groups and educational workshops is an important job for peer specialists. In this presentation, Ari Dennis introduces attendees to the concept of gender inclusion and how it applies to facilitation for peer specialists. Practical skills will be the core of the talk interwoven with personal narrative and statistics. The skills they will address are categorized broadly into personal inclusive practices, facilitation of groups with mixed gender or sexual orientation, and awareness and deconstruction of gender associations.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify at least 3 ways to navigate the use of gender-neutral pronouns.

• Design inclusive personal and group introductions.

• List at least 3 tools to prepare for greater gender diversity with attendees and create a toolbox of gender-neutral language

A Psychiatric Advance Directive (PAD) is a legal document that details preferences for future
mental health treatment, services, and supports. This webinar will present the core elements of
a PAD, and the role and benefits of Peer Specialists facilitating and supporting their
development. Presented by experts in the field, this panel discussion will share how PADs are
having positive impacts on mental health and crisis services.

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Learning Objectives:

• List at least 5 core elements of a Psychiatric Advanced Directive (PAD)

• Identify the benefits of developing a PAD to quality of care, community safety, and cultural responsiveness

• Describe the role of Peer Specialists and benefits of peer-facilitated PADs

Join Doors to Wellbeing for a presentation introducing Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) crisis and post-crisis planning concepts and a discussion about shared decision making based on the principles and tools emphasized in the WRAP approach.

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Learning Objectives:

• Provide information about tools that can help establish positive relationships and productive communication with individuals often considered “difficult to engage.”

• Provide examples of how to apply these tools in a range of settings and with diverse groups of people.

• Offer opportunities to discuss practical challenges and opportunities for implementing these tools in day-to-day practice.

Three leaders from a peer-run mental health organization will share lessons learned from transitioning from in-person programming to providing remote peer support services. Peers Envisioning and Engaging in Recovery Services (PEERS) is located in Alameda County in California, which has had one of the earliest, strictest, and longest-running shelter-in-place policies in the state and nation. The panelists will share the decision-making process around moving to remote services and the successes and challenges involved. The webinar will include time for questions, discussion, and shared problem-solving around providing peer support remotely. Bring your experiences and ideas!

Learning Objectives:

• Learn from an honest discussion of the challenges and successes involved in going remote in a peer-run organization

• Gain insight into the priorities, structures, and relationships that enabled a peer-run organization to adapt quickly to an enormous change while protecting the health of its participants and staff

• Name at least 3 specific tools and steps that helped -- and didn’t help -- in that transition

Leadership skills are an essential part of life. Every person has leadership qualities. Come learn from these experts on how they have incorporated youth leadership into treatment plans to empower youth to see how their resilience is leadership. You will also hear from a youth who received behavioral health treatment and how leadership has helped them thrive. You will be empowered and so will the youth you serve!

Learning Objectives:

• List at least 3 tools mental health peer specialists can use to empower youth.

• Name 3 leadership skills and how they promote engagement in treatment planning.

• Describe how resilience can be defined as a type of leadership. 

Youth Peer Specialists can serve valuable positions on boards - from advisory boards to community boards to agency or county board to hospital boards to boards of directors. In this webinar, you will have an opportunity to learn about the benefits and experiences of having youth sitting on boards for mental health and wellness organizations. It will also detail what to expect and how to be inclusive. In an effort to share the importance of mentoring young adults, this webinar will highlight the voice of a young adult who has explored multiple boards and what it’s like to build partnerships within them.

Learning Objectives:

• Name at least 3 reasons why youth representation is helpful to increase diversity and sustain the future of an organization.

• Describe at least 3 ways to make a board more conducive to youth participation.

• List at least 3 best practices for recruiting youth onto a board.

The purpose of the Guidelines for Supervisors is to educate supervisors about the core peer support values as applied in supervisory relationships. This webinar will describe the supervisor’s role and offer practical tips about how supervisors can help peer support specialists remain true to the values outlined in the National Practice Guidelines for Peer Supporters. 

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the process through which the National Practice Guidelines for Peer Specialists and Supervisors were developed. 

• List at least 4 Core Values of Peer Support and corresponding Peer Supporter Guidelines and Supervisor Guidelines.  

• Explain how the Guidelines for Supervisors can be used as a self-assessment for supervisors to improve the supervision experience.

In this webinar, you will have an opportunity to learn about the benefits of building partnerships between organizations. In efforts of enhancing and strengthening the peer workforce; it is a crucial time for collaborative partnerships to form and for organizations to have the skills to maintain sustainable, mutual and complementary community partnerships. This webinar will highlight the voices of peer organizations that are already putting these concepts into practice and will explore some simple steps for building partnerships that have successful outcomes for the growth of a peer workforce. 

Learning Objectives; 

• Participants will gain insight into why it is beneficial to maintain and create organizational partnerships. 

• Participants will learn practical steps for building organizational partnerships.

• Participants will hear success stories from organizational leaders and how partnerships have elevated programs, policies, and organizational structures of the peer workforce.

Too many people with behavioral health challenges are not working or work in jobs that are not satisfying or stimulating because they have physical health issues that get in the way. Success at work requires a level of stamina, energy, and concentration that can be hard to sustain without daily wellness habits and routines. Physical Wellness for Work is a manual of activities and information for increasing workplace health and well-being. Developed for people in recovery who are living with a mental health condition, peer specialists can use this as a self-guided tool or as a tool to help others think about how their wellness affects their ability to get and keep a job. Join Dr. Cook and Dr. Swarbrick for this webinar to learn more about this free resource along with how to access training and technical assistance for using it.

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This webinar is offered in collaboration with UIC Center on Integrated Healthcare & Self-Directed Recovery.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how the concepts of health and wellness apply to worker productivity and satisfaction.

• Learn how to develop daily health habits that support you on the job.

• Learn how information and activities in the manual Physical Wellness for Work can be taught to others.

• Learn who can use the manual, how it works, what resources are required, what level of teaching experience is needed, and how to get ready to offer it to others.

Trauma is a factor in many people's lives and can lead to challenges that encompass all facets of living. This presentation will describe basic information about the characteristics and prevalence of trauma - relevant to the work of mental health peer specialists. Risk factors and protective factors will be reviewed so that peer supporters are better grounded in providing trauma-informed care in supporting recovery and resilience. The presentation will review the importance of language and perspective in working with someone who has or is experiencing trauma. It will also highlight how mental health peer specialists can benefit by shifting the focus to emotional understanding and strengths-based interactions that support successful recovery.

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Learning Objectives:

• List at least 3 possible ways trauma may affect people seeking peer support

• Explain the importance of strengths-based language and the use of empathy as a communication tool

• State at least 4 tools for mental health peer support specialists to apply in relationships with people who have experienced trauma

This webinar will explore Dr. Gray’s successful implementation of a community-based crisis team model in rural communities in Oklahoma, as well as her current ongoing efforts in other locations. She will discuss topics such as steps to create a local crisis team, how and why to involve community members in the creation and implementation phases, and identifying strengths and barriers in your community. Dr. Gray will draw on her decades of experience working with tribes and rural communities in various regions across the United States and abroad.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize crisis needs in your community

• Identify at least 3 local resources

• List steps for putting together a recovery crisis team

As the United States population continues to diversify, peer specialists must find ways to provide equitable, effective care and services to the culturally and linguistically diverse populations they serve. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health developed the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care to offer a framework for delivering services that are respectful of and responsive to each person’s culture and communication needs. This webinar will introduce the concept of culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS), provide an overview of the National CLAS Standards, share key findings from organizations that have implemented the National CLAS Standards, and provide actionable recommendations for successful implementation of the National CLAS Standards. 

Learning Objectives:

• Define culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS)

• Describe the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services and discuss examples of successful implementation in healthcare.

• Learn about organizational adoption of the National CLAS Standards as a strategy to advance health equity, improve quality and help eliminate healthcare disparities

Empowerment is one of the essential tools used to promote an individual’s self-determination to engage and manage their challenges in the clinical system. However, peer specialists can make even more of an impact when other colleagues understand the important role a peer specialist can play in recovery. Learning how to communicate with other service providers will, in return, create solid allies that facilitate one’s wellness and recovery. This webinar will offer tips developed through our skills as peer specialists to empower colleagues as allies in our work.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify at least 3 strategies to connect with other peer support specialists.

• Recognize at least 3 strategies to turn other staff into recovery allies.

• Identify the role and value of peer support in promoting community wellbeing.

In acute and crisis situations, peer support specialists can become an essential part of the recovery process for individuals under duress. Peer support specialists engage, empower, and advocate for people in acute and crisis settings. 

Learning Objectives:

• List at least 3 ways to engage with peers in crisis that align with the Ten Essential Values of Responding to Mental Health Crises.

• List the Six Principles of the trauma-informed approach.

• Describe at least 3 strategies to maintain your own wellness when working with people in crisis.

Why talk about smoking cessation and peer support specialists? According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), smoking is the leading cause of preventable death worldwide.1  "Approximately 1 in 4 (or 25%) of adults in the U.S. have some form of mental health or substance use disorder, and these adults consume almost 40% of all cigarettes smoked."2 

This webinar will highlight the importance of peer support and a plan for individuals taking a journey toward smoking cessation.  It will also offer tips for supporters at different stages of a person’s journey toward self-liberation from cigarettes.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the practice of curiosity and openness when encountering diverse perspectives about smoking.

• Explore areas of change based on self-direction.

• Examine Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP®) for smoking cessation as a plan and a common language to connect.

Integrative care, meeting both medical and behavioral health needs in one location, is increasingly becoming the norm.

 
Learning Objectives

• Define integrative care and its effect on peers working in healthcare.

• Recognize the value of peer support specialists in health care settings and the importance of advocacy for these roles and peer support as a whole.

• Identify skills for increasing professionalism and leadership as a peer support while maintaining personal wellness.

Why a webinar on financial wellness for peer support providers?

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Financial wellness matters to recovery. Poverty, financial hardship and dependency on public benefits are top barriers to recovery and wellness. They are root causes of depression, anxiety, and suicide. In fact, many of the problems people in recovery experience have more to do with their social conditions than their diagnoses.
Peer support providers can help foster financial hope. Economic exclusion hurts individuals and communities by crushing hope, a vital ingredient of recovery. Studies have shown that peer support can be effective at building hope. In many ways, hope is more essential to financial wellness than knowledge and skills. Peers can help foster financial hope: the sense of financial agency ("I can achieve my financial wellness goals and life dreams") and financial pathways ("There are concrete ways I can achieve my financial wellness goals").

Learning Objectives​

• Identify key elements of hope and why hope and economic inclusion matter to recovery

• Discuss why peers don't have to be financial counselors or experts nor have "achieved" financial wellness to build financial hope among others.

• Recognize concrete strategies peer support providers can use to help build financial hope in five domains: day-to-day financial stability, long-term financial security, autonomy from public benefits, ability to control their financial decisions, economic citizenship and participation.

• Follow a six-step economic empowerment process to engage people in culturally meaningful conversations about life dreams and financial goals, build financial hope, develop financial wellness action plans and coach people through a process that helps them to move toward financial goals

How do we stay well while supporting people who need emotional care? This presentation will explore tools, role plays, and discussions that will help mental health peer specialists build up their wellness and resilience and avoid compassion fatigue and burn out. Additionally, this presentation will include lessons learned about burnout and compassion fatigue for peer support specialists during the initial implementation of Medicaid billable peer support services in Arizona. 

Learning Objectives:

• Define compassion fatigue and burnout.

• Recognize at least 3 common signs of compassion fatigue and burnout.

• List at least 3 tools to minimize compassion fatigue and burnout in the workplace. 

Self-disclosure is one of the most powerful and valuable tools for the peer support specialist.  As important as this topic is, there is much confusion in defining it, using it and modeling it.  This webinar looks at all aspects of self-disclosure from definition, purpose, roles, boundaries and some basic do’s and don’ts. This webinar will explore the difference between storytelling and the sharing mutuality of self-disclosure.

Learning Objectives:

• Define self-disclosure and its overall and specific purposes. 

• Identify the purpose of self-disclosure and how it may dictate what we say and how we say it.

• Describe how our role (friend, peer support specialist, family member, etc.) can impact self-disclosure

This webinar will discuss ways in which youth leaders and advocates can use social media to advance their peer mental health work with peers. Social Media helps build rapport, increase engagement, and spread awareness for different campaigns and events. We will also discuss things to keep in mind such as boundaries, cyberbullying, and developing social media agreements with your peers.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the benefits of social media for increased participant engagement and learn about the effects of social media in youth culture.

• Describe the dimensions of boundaries, professionalism, and messaging with social media.

• List different applications and platforms that can be used to manage campaigns, create flyers/brochures, and increase reach and build rapport.

• Identify steps to prevent/moderate cyberbullying and create social media agreements with peers.

This webinar highlights strategies to develop a skilled and diverse Board of Directors to oversee emerging peer-run and other mental health organizations. These strategies are geared towards organizations that are moving toward incorporation as a nonprofit agency, but will also highlight approaches that existing organizations can use to strengthen an already existing board of directors. A strong Board of Director's guidance, commitment and oversight is vital to a non-profit organization's success. This webinar will explore steps to developing and sustaining a Board of Directors rooted in supporting an organization's mission, vision, and values.

By the end of this Webinar, participants will be able to:

• Examine the value and tasks of an Interim Organizing Committee

• Evaluate a process for selecting and recruiting Board Members

• Identify common Board Member roles and responsibilities

Trauma can have a serious impact on our mental health and wellbeing, but many trauma survivors also report positive growth as a result of their experiences. This webinar will explore the impact of trauma and post-traumatic growth (PTG) and how peer specialists can use the research on PTG in their own recovery and work with others.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the impact of trauma on mental health and wellbeing.

• Describe the concept of PTG and its supporting research.

• Identify the role and value of understanding trauma and PTG in your role as a peer support specialist.

• Discuss opportunities for integrating PTG in your work.

As mental health peer specialists, how do we create an environment that fosters recovery and growth? Ahmad Abojaradeh will discuss best practices for creating an environment for enhancing mental health and personal empowerment to make changes in one’s life.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the foundations of recovery environments.

• List at least three steps to create an inclusive recovery environment.

• Identify at least three ways in which creating a recovery environment enhances workplace wellness.

For many mental health peer specialists who deliver direct services, moving into a supervisory role is a way to become a leader among colleagues, ensure high standards for service delivery, and increase wages. This webinar will discuss the skills and supports that are beneficial to a supervisory role. It will also address barriers to the change in role and ways to overcome them. It will also discuss the practical aspects of working in a supervisory role as a peer specialist including providing weekly supervision, maintaining boundaries, and managing personal wellbeing.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify at least 3 skills that will assist with achieving success as a peer specialist working in a supervisory role.

• Recognize the role of a peer specialist working in a supervisory role including providing weekly supervision, maintaining personal boundaries, and supporting staff in their recovery.

• Outline a plan for managing personal wellbeing and prevention of burnout as a supervisor.​

Learn about the journey of creating Rhonda’s House, a new peer-run crisis respite home in the rural town of Dewitt, Iowa (population of 5,000).  This webinar will touch on how key stakeholders collaborated on Rhonda’s House and were able to gain non-profit status, build a board of directors, hire peer staff, and find creative funding strategies. This webinar is beneficial for mental health peer specialists looking for better ways to support people in crisis, as well as those looking to build their own peer-run organization.

Learning Objectives:

• Examine key steps for collaborating and developing a peer-run crisis respite in a rural area.

• Identify support from key allies and building partnerships in your communities.

• Research key funding for start-up and sustainability of peer-run crisis respite homes

One of the greatest assets of mental health peer specialists is the ability to share our recovery stories as a way to connect with people and inspire those who may be struggling. However, sometimes it is hard for us to reconcile the negative experiences of our past with the positive role model we are today. Using the "Hero’s Journey" as a framework to reflect on your recovery story can help you connect with your moments of heroism in your past and use them to help and inspire others. This webinar will help mental health peer specialists explore the "Hero’s Journey" and how to tell their story in a way that presents a healing and hopeful message.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify steps to apply the "Hero’s Journey" structure to recovery stories.

• Discuss the importance of becoming the hero of our own recovery journey.

• Examine the benefits of storytelling for both the teller and listeners of the story. 

Exciting new research suggests that increased community participation is related to improved physical, cognitive and mental health and wellbeing. This webinar will provide mental health peer specialists and their allies a foundational understanding of the relationship between community participation and recovery and wellbeing. It will also explore the key role that mental health peer specialists can play in supporting increased community participation.

Learning Objectives:

• Define the concepts of community integration, inclusion, and participation and their relationship to physical, cognitive and mental health and wellbeing;

• Describe the ways which community exclusion occurs and impacts physical, cognitive, and mental health and wellbeing;

• Discuss the evidence base that establishes the medical benefits and need for increased community participation for people with mental health challenges;

• Identify the role and value of peer support in promoting community wellbeing through increased integration, inclusion, and participation.

This webinar will provide a brief overview of ethics and boundaries of peer support particularly for those who support people with substance use disorders. Looking through the value of lived experience, we will discuss the specific ethical dilemmas related to supporting individuals with a co-occurring substance use and mental health diagnosis.  Additionally, we will review the benefit of using community-based supports to address unique challenges and support recovery.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the ethical duties of a peer support specialists.

• Describe ethics and boundaries for supporting individuals with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental health diagnosis.

• Discuss strategies to overcome unique challenges for peer support specialists when working with people with substance use disorders and mental health diagnoses.

People in the criminal justice system experience higher rates of substance use disorders, mental health challenges, and chronic health conditions than the general population. Most people who are currently incarcerated will be released back to their communities. Mental health peer specialists will likely work with those who are justice involved who may have different needs and challenges. This webinar will look at one successful program and provide details on activities and practices that can be reproduced by mental health peer specialists across the US for successful engagement of people who are justice involved.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn more about how using peer-facilitated groups and peer support can reduce the rate of recidivism for service recipients reentering the community.

• Gain insight into strategic ways for mental health peer specialists to communicate and connect with those reentering the community after incarceration.

• Identify preconceived ideas and judgements of people who are justice involved that can affect how mental health peer specialists provide peer support.

Moments of personal distress and emotional intensity are sometimes, but not always, described by mental health consumers as crisis. When accompanied by disabling symptoms, thoughts of suicide or self-harm, and despair, these times can be very difficult to bear. Often, though, these challenging times end up being crucial to people’s growth, development of recovery and resilience skills and even finding their sense of purpose in the world.

This webinar will provide participants with basic understanding of crisis supports and suicide prevention in the context of recovery for mental health peer specialists. It will introduce the philosophy, values and basic practices of peer support related to suicide. Listening and positive engagement skills will be emphasized through scenarios and discussion with a particular focus on how to approach personal experience in this context. Participants will also be introduced to key suicide prevention concepts, trainings and other resources for related personal and professional development.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the connections of crisis, suicidality, personal growth and recovery.

• Describe the expanding role of mental health peer support and lived experience in suicide prevention nationally.

• Identify the key concepts related to suicide prevention practices.

Chronic illness can be traumatic on multiple levels -- physically, emotionally, and mentally. As mental health peer specialists, many of us are serving populations that have both mental health challenges and chronic illnesses. Join Michael Buck, Advanced Level Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) Facilitator, to learn about how people with chronic illnesses use wellness planning to overcome the issues and challenges associated with HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, and other life threatening illnesses. In addition, learn how mental health peer specialists are best able to support people with chronic illness and the associated trauma.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe how people with chronic illness use wellness planning to maintain quality of life.

• Develop a list of wellness tools to share with peers to support overcoming the challenges of chronic illnesses.

• Identify actions mental health peer specialists can take to encourage people living with chronic illness to connect with others.

Many mental health peer specialists are called to work with youth and young adults. However, youth and young adults have unique needs that require unique engagement strategies. In this webinar, you will hear from leaders in the youth movement about how to engage youth as mental health peer specialists. Additionally, presenters will explore the history and development of the youth-to-youth peer support movement led by transitional age youth (TAY) leaders from around the country.

Participants in this webinar will be offered interactive activities that are appropriate for mental health peer specialists to use with youth and young adults, as well as ideas for implementing innovative approaches into various youth peer support programs. This webinar will include a preview of the Peer Generation Curriculum developed by the Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery.  

Learning Objectives:

• Examine at least 3 benefits of the peer support for youth and young adults.

• Gain an understanding into the foundations of youth resiliency.

• Learn at least 2 interactive engagement activities for mental health peer support specialists to utilize with youth.  

Cultural inequalities exist in all aspects of society ranging from lack of access to quality education, housing, mental health care, and employment to the overrepresentation of minorities in the criminal justice system. There is a need for mental health peer specialists to understand how cultural inequalities affect individuals living with mental illness and lead to higher rates of incarceration. This presentation will focus on cultural inequalities, individual human rights, and how these topics intersect from the perspective of mental health peer specialists. This webinar will discuss strategies that are being used in Arlington County, VA. Participants will learn how to help peer clients understand cultural inequalities and how to navigate the mental health and criminal justice systems by understanding their rights and using self-advocacy.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how cultural inequalities affect individual’s access to services that promote recovery and how mental health peer specialists can help increase access.  

• Learn how cultural inequalities affect interactions with the criminal justice system and incarceration.

• Gain knowledge on how to educate peer clients, who are at risk for entering the criminal justice system or currently incarcerated, in using self-advocacy to enhance mental health outcomes.

This webinar will discuss initiatives designed to train and provide employment opportunities for mental health peer specialists created by a peer-run program staffed by Certified Peer Specialists who demonstrate/model recovery through education and their own lived experiences. This webinar will include an introduction to a successful internship program as well as examining the challenges and possible solutions for mental health peer specialist career development. It will also look at a unique initiative through FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) grants for mental health peer specialists.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe effective approaches to managing mental health peer specialists in the workforce.

• Identify the obstacles and challenges associated with mental health peer specialists in the workforce.

• Examine two initiatives that have successfully placed approximately 20 CPS in 2015 & 2016

This webinar focuses on the journey of personal mental health recovery back into the community. For many of us, when we first started experiencing mental health difficulties, we found them life-consuming. We will talk about skills and techniques to help bridge this sometimes precarious and difficult phase through the development of participant structured support groups for improved mental health. These groups allow us to explore relationships in a safe, respectful peer environment. Support groups give us a way to give back and mentor others as we become more and more well. The leadership role mental health peer specialists can take in creating support groups will be examined through this webinar, as well. 

Learning Objectives: 

•  Outline steps to create a community support group for mental health and wellness. 

•  Identify key leadership roles in the community to support efforts to create support groups. 

•  Explore the benefits of healthy relationships created through support groups.

Our mental health is strongly influenced by how we take care of ourselves. While self-care is important for everyone; it is particularly important for those of us engaged in peer support and caregiving professions. We can best support others when we first care for ourselves. Join Denise Camp, Advanced Level WRAP Facilitator, to explore the importance of self-care and how you can do small things to improve your mental health and wellness.

Workshop participants will learn to:

• Define mental health and wellness for themselves;

• Understand how their mental health and wellness affects their work as a peer specialist;

• Develop personal tools for improving and maintaining mental health and wellness.

Conflict in the workplace can occur for a variety of reasons.  Peer specialists can be a resource to resolving conflicts in behavioral health, whether within the workforce, with peers they support, or with others. Conflict resolution professionals have developed different approaches to mediating and resolving conflict. MH Mediate has pioneered specific mediation strategies and trainings for effective conflict resolution in mental health settings. This webinar explores the conflicts you might experience as a peer specialist, introduces vital conflict resolution skills, and shares resources you can use in your work.

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• Participants will appreciate what conflict resolution skills are including an emphasis on listening, self-determination, impartiality, and conflict resolution processes.

• Participants will know how to access conflict resolution resources, tools, and referrals

• Participants will understand how conflict resolution skills can help them in their role as peer specialists

While Young Adult (YA) peer support providers are increasingly employed as members of mental health service teams, providers have struggled to maintain a strong YA peer workforce. In this webinar, we will provide an overview of the contents of the recently developed Transitions Research and Training Center (RTC) Toolkit for on sustaining and growing a YA peer workforce, including a comprehensive guidance, implementation tools [e.g., checklists, worksheets], sample policies, self-assessments, and webinars. 

The toolkit includes information on the following:

• Unique aspects of YA peer job,

• Organizational framework and cultural elements,

• Best practices for recruiting hiring, and training,

• Effective approaches for supervising YA peers,

• Strategies for non-peer staff to be supporters and resources for YA peers.

Pennsylvania has begun a concerted effort to integrate Certified Peer Specialists (CPSs) into the full array of crisis programs. This workshop will inform participants of the steps taken to get this effort moving, where we are at in the process currently, and future steps and aspirations.

Learning Objectives - Participants will:

• Learn how the process to integrate CPSs into crisis programs began.

• Learn about potential roles and responsibilities of CPSs in various crisis programs.

• Learn about the newly developed training that is available.

Ever wonder what we're talking about when we talk about the effectiveness of peer support? Me too! Sometimes it seems unclear what the research is asking, but we all know that how you ask influences the answer that you get. Join us to learn how the role of first-hand lived experience in evaluation research is related to the future of peer support.

Workshop objectives:

• Provide participants with real-life examples of research that supports the value of peer workers

• Highlight the importance of lived experience in research

• Relate research approaches to documenting knowledge about peer support

This workshop was developed to share my experience, strength, and hope on supervising the unique role of peer specialists. During this workshop, I will share some strategies and skills that I have acquired over the last 6 years as Supervisor of Peer Specialists working in various services settings. I will also expand the topic by sharing some of my advocacy efforts to educate the greater community on the integration of Peers Specialist, appropriate supervision, reasonable accommodations, and organizational culture.

Participants will:

• Effective Skills to be a Peer Supervisor

• Discuss Ethics & Boundaries

• Discuss Roles & Responsibilities

This webinar will provide examples of how your word choices can deeply impact your interactions and work with peers, especially in behavioral health settings. 

Participants will:

• Learn how to make intentional strength-based word choices that support the growth and empowerment of peers. 

• Made aware of how language and word selection has shaped their lives which, in turn, will yield valuable personal insight

• Learn framework for communicating in a more positive and intentional matter.

This webinar is to introduce you to DBSA Peer Leadership Center. This center is an easily accessible, impartial, and central location where peer specialists and peer supporters can find the information and training they want, connect with others working in the field, learn about employment opportunities and organizations that champion peer support services, and engage in dialogue to strengthen the peer workforce.

During this webinar participants will:

• learn about the DBSA Peer Leadership Center as a resource for continuing education and training

• be able to experience a tour of this resource

• learn about the DBSA Peer Leadership Center as a resource for networking within the peer workforce.

There has been a lot of discussion among peer specialists trying to determine if national certification is a good thing for the profession or would it get in the way of personal or professional achievement. A lot of ideas, organizations, and plans are being discussed.

This workshop will examine the Canadian Peer Support Certification process from start to completion, along with the internal organizational structure and supports needed for the process. We will also share how Canada developed our National Standards of Practice for the Practice and Training of Peer Support.

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• Participants will learn about the framework behind the Canadian National Standards;

• Participants will learn about the infrastructure and processes required for Peer Support Certification; and

• Participants will learn about the National Peer Support Certification process for candidates

This webinar, developed in collaboration with Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion, will introduce peer specialists on how to develop tools, plans and methods to support peers being re-introduced and re-integrated back into the community.

By the end of this webinar participants will be able to:

• define the concepts of community integration, inclusion, and participation and their relationship to mental health and wellness;

• describe the ways which community exclusion occurs and impacts health and wellness;

• discuss the evidence base that supports an increased focus on community inclusion; 

• identify the role and value of peer support in promoting community wellness through increased inclusion.

As a participant, you will discover multiple ways to be creative. The program is not limited to typical artistic activities; it also involves how to dress creatively, communicate, and how to be a natural YOU. You will learn ways to integrate art as a wellness tool, to address trauma issues, and to experience a sense of well being and pleasure.

The webinar will:

• Discuss a broad variety of methods to bring all expressions of art into the world and work of peer specialists. 

• You will see illustrations of activities using photos by peer artists who are experts on these subjects.

This webinar will provide an overview of the national survey of compensation among peer support specialists. This survey provides peer specialists with useful information on compensation rates across different types of service organizations and geographical locations. This webinar will use this data to help peer specialists advocate for improved compensation rates.

This webinar will:

• Understand differences among peer support specialist compensation.

• Understand how peer specialist compensation rates may be developed, and use national and regional data to advocate for individual employment benefits.

• Recognize the regional differences in compensation of peer specialists based on the states where they work.

This inspirational workshop will provide you with action steps to start a peer-run or peer-owned organization. Research reveals our wellness is gained and maintained as we contribute our skills and talents to society. If you have a desire to be a leader beyond your imagination you will learn the benefits of research, communication, and collaboration to watch your dreams become a reality.

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• Identify the 3 "W's (why, what, where) you want to start a peer-run or owned business

• Identify HOW to start

• Identify your best supporters and what's in it for them.

As the Forensic Peer Support Project Specialist for the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers’ Association, active in her own recovery since August of 2004, Liz shares her fear of incarceration. After receiving a DUI and possession charge which prompted her recovery, she recognized her mental health diagnosis of major depression and anxiety and sought treatment. Her main desire is to help others like herself.

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This workshop will:

• Define Forensic Peer Support

• Reducing recidivism and the over-representation of mentally ill in the criminal justice system

• Recognize Diversion Opportunities available for individuals with a Mental Health Illness or Substance Use Disorder

The workshop will examine the power of engaging our spirit in the process of developing resilience as we recover. We will also describe the future steps of the recovery journey and set our sights on horizons yet to be reached.

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• Nurturing our spirit

• moving beyond recovery

• Using our spirit to develop resilience

When a peer (or anyone) finds themselves “Out of Work,” we go through a variety of feelings and experiences that can actually get in the way of getting back on your feet.  This webinar will explore both the general and unique feeling of being a peer (or supporting a peer) who finds themselves out of work.  We will also look at developing a plan to reclaim and maintain your wellness during periods of unemployment.  In today’s economic climate, this webinar is a necessity for both those looking for work and those supporting peers who are struggling with unemployment.

People attending this webinar will learn the following:

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• To identify the universal feelings of being unemployed and how to combat the natural negativity that can occur in this situation

• To develop methods to fully understand their work life and to put pieces in place to achieve what they want

• To establish a variety of tools to maintain their wellness through their unemployment that can also be used as they return to the world of work

This workshop will support CPS staff to engage more purposefully with individual advocacy work. Participants will understand that this type of advocacy is already a part of the work they do, and will learn from advocates and from a Certified Peer how to skillfully engage in individual advocacy and use it as a starting point to support systems change. Participants will be able to identify three ways they already engage in individual advocacy. Participants will be able to explain how wellness tools and documentation can be effective advocacy tools.

Workshop attendees will be able to identify how to communicate with their supervisors to support the advocacy plan of program participants.

In this webinar, she will share what she has learned – both the positive and the areas that still need work – as well as the best way to address the part of the process that gets in the way of successful utilization of the peer workforce.  She has seen the power of welcoming peers as a powerful innovation that serves to empower individuals in reclaiming their lives as well as the problems that occur when clinical staff see peer specialists as unwanted invaders.  She will detail and address issues that need to be recognized and addressed in order to embrace the peer specialist into the recovery-based work environment in a manner that allows a mutually supportive workforce.

The webinar will describe what VA Peer Support is and why it is so important.  There will be a look at the critical role of recovery and having peers modeling recovery from both the provider and the patients’ perspective.  To support the legitimacy of the peer support position the presenters will detail the training, certification, credentialing, and ethics of Peer Support within the VA. They will explore the many roles of a peer supporter such as a model, mentor, coach, guide, cheerleader, or companion. The webinar also presents appropriate boundaries and clarifies what Peer Support is not. Examples of what is happening at the Boise VA Medical Center and other VAs throughout the nation will be presented.  Listeners will see how they can be part of the VA peer support system.

Dawniell Zavala, Program Director of W.I.S.E. (Workforce Integration Support and Integration) a program of NorCal MHA, is an expert in successfully integrating peer workers into the mental health system by creating a work environment that educates and supports all participants in the mental health workforce.  WISE, both prepares the organization on the best way to welcome, utilize, support, and nurture the peer worker while also providing a broad spectrum of education and support to the new peer employee. 

This webinar will provide peer employers and employees with the obstacles, reasons, and methods to ensure a successful integration of peers into the mental health workforce.

This 60- minute webinar will explore the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS) celebrated a decade of behavioral health system transformation. As part of this celebration, DBHIDS conducted an extensive study on what was working in the utilization of peer support services and what still needed work.  Philadelphia has been on the cutting edge of peer support services both in training and in employment possibilities.  This extensive study of all stakeholders provides the foundation for Philadelphia to continue the growth of the peer specialist professional as an indispensable member of the healthcare community.

By the end of this Webinar, people will be able to:

• Learn how Philadelphia conducted a thorough investigation into all facets of peer specialist services,

• Discover a broad spectrum of methods to obtain the most accurate and detailed overview of the implementation of peer specialist services in an urban setting,

• Use the results to both assess and improve the peer specialist services in their community.

This 60-minute webinar will briefly explain the history of Pennsylvania’s Medicaid Billable Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) Services and the data that demonstrates its mutual benefits.

Through valid survey results, Gina will highlight how Pennsylvania’s CPS Initiative has benefited people participating in these services, certified peer specialists, the behavioral health system, and the greater community.

We will also review lessons learned and next steps for continued growth.

By the end of this Webinar, people will be able to:

• Define at least four key values and/or practices of peer support services,

• Evaluate at least 4 key findings from the PA Certified Peer Specialist survey,

• Summarize and give examples of current trends in peer support service utilization.