1. Mental Health Program; CVH and M Site
Peer Support
Mental Health Program; CVH and M Site

2. Introduction Funding from the Mississauga/Halton LHIN in 2015
Mental Health inpatient peer support
Funding allocated as follows as part of a larger Consumer Survivor Initiative
Mississauga Site: 2 FTE
Credit Valley: 1 FTE
Introduction

3. “Peer support is a system of giving and receiving help founded on key principles of respect, shared responsibility, and mutual agreement of what is helpful.
Peer support is not based on psychiatric models and diagnostic criteria.
It is about understanding another’s situation empathically through the shared experience of emotional and psychological pain.”
Mead, Hilton, & Curtis, 2001, p. 135
Mental Health Commission Of Canada; Making the case for Peer Support
What is Peer Support?

4. (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2010)
Empowerment, Choice, Self-Direction, Strengths, Resilience
Link people living with a Mental Health Issue and/or substance use with people who have a common issue/life experience.
Share knowledge and experiences, including some that health care workers do not have.
What is Peer Support?
(Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2010)

5. Values and core functions of Peer Workers
To support persons they work with, and instill and inspire the following concepts with them:
Hope that recovery is possible, Self-Determination, Personal Responsibility, Self-Advocacy
Dignity, respect and social inclusion
Integrity, authenticity and trust
Connecting with community supports
Values and core functions of Peer Workers

6. Role of peers on our in-patient units
One to one counselling
Facilitate and co-facilitate groups from a recovery framework:
Signs & Symptom Management
Understanding Depression
Anxiety Management
Goal-Setting
Role of peers on our in-patient units

7. More Groups Wellness Recovery Action Plan® (WRAP®)
5 Key concepts of Mental Health recovery
Coping with Triggers and Early Warning Signs
General evening support group
Discharge planning
More Groups

8. Co-Facilitate Family Support groups with Social Workers
share resources
emphasize the importance of self-care for families
Participate in patient-family meetings
Roles of Peers Cont.

9. Collaborate with inter-professional team throughout the course of the day
Involved in clinical rounds: provide updates on client status and recommendations for follow-up for client discharge
Take part in the bed meetings with ER & Mental Health Program
Roles of Peers Cont.

10. Help with program development , implementation & ongoing evaluation of existing programs
Coordinate with external agencies to participate in client-centered education sessions on the unit once per month
Seek out peer specific education (internally & externally) ongoing professional development
Roles of Peers Cont.

11. Share information about the value of peer support with staff, patients, family and supporters
Conduct Peer Support Information Seminars with medical students and nursing students
Represent monthly at a systems-wide level to advocate the need for peer support-Paid Peer Network, Supervisors Paid Peer Network
Roles of Peers Cont.

12. What are the benefits of peers on multi-disciplinary teams?

13. Benefits of having a Peer on the team
Supports balanced, person-centred approach
Offers unique perspectives
Provides equal, empowering, recovery-oriented relationships
Mutually beneficial
Model effective recovery strategies and skills to clients, families and co-workers
Benefits of having a Peer on the team

14. Benefits of having a Peer on the team
Peer support workers may have faced many barriers leading to recovery, and as such are able to share available community resources, many that other Health care workers do not have knowledge of.
Through the use of shared experience, peer support workers are able to support clients to change their story from an illness focus to a recovery and ability focus.
Benefits of having a Peer on the team

15. “I didn’t realize it at first, but peer support was the missing link into getting better from my last hospitalization”. –Patient
“Going to groups has helped me with my anxiety being around other people. I look forward to getting out of the house more, when I am discharged” –Patient
What patients say:

16. What Family members have shared:
“After meeting you, I have more hope knowing that my son can get better”.-Parent
“I am very happy that the hospital has implemented the Peer Support program. It wasn't available to my wife on her last visit. I know it will make a difference this time”.
-Spouse
What Family members have shared:

17. What our Fellow Team Members say:
“Peer Support can help educate patients, especially those that are confrontational. They help improve Patient-Doctor relations”.
-Psychiatrist
“With you sharing your lived experience, you bring a patients point of view to the team to help provide better care for the patient”.
-Nurse
What our Fellow Team Members say:

18. What are fellow Team members say:
“You bring a different level of comfort, not only for the patients, but also for the staff” - Clinical Team Lead
“You bring authenticity and a common understanding that enables you to engage with patients in a way that doctors can’t. This can bridge a gap between doctor and patient”. -Psychiatrist
What are fellow Team members say:

19. Questions?