peer specialists tagged posts

Peer Support Receives Much Needed Recognition from Congress

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

Last year, Congress gave mental health advocates a year-end present during the lame duck session by passing mental health reform legislation as part of the 21st Century Cures Act and sending it to President Obama for signature. Implementation began in earnest on May 24, 2017, with the call for nominations for non-federal appointments to the Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee. Read about this and other wins in this legislation in this post from the CFYM archives.

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Why I’ve Chosen the Rewarding Profession of Certified Peer Specialist

Care For Your Mind wraps up the series on peer support services this week with a post from Olga Wuerz, a certified peer specialist, WOC (Without Compensation) who shares first-hand the value of including peer support services as an integral part of the mental health care delivery team at VA hospitals and centers.

Why I’ve Chosen the Rewarding Profession of Certified Peer Specialist
Olga Wuerz, Certified Peer Specialist, WOC and President of the Dallas VA Mental Health Veterans Advocacy Council

I started working on the Acute In-Patient unit at the Dallas VA Hospital about 8 years ago...

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Can Peer Support Services Improve Outcomes?

How to increase the visibility and availability of peer support services—an evidence-based practice—is an important topic during any discussion on mental health care reform. CFYM will be discussing this topic over the next few weeks. On Wednesday, April 29, look for a recap on a congressional briefing hosted by DBSA to educate congressional staffers on this critical component of mental health care.

Larry Davidson, Ph.D.
Director, Program for Recovery and Community Health
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine

Stories of frustration and sorrow from family members who w...

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My Three-Part Call-to-Action: How We Can Fix Our Mental Healthcare System

Allen Doederlein
President, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA)

thehill
Photo Credit: The Hill

Last Thursday, February 26, I represented those with lived experiences at The Hill’s mental health briefing Fixing America’s Mental Healthcare System to an audience of nearly 100 leaders and activists in Washington, DC...

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