Supporting, Module Supervising and Retaining Peer Staff · Success 2 Supporting, Supervising and Retaining Peer Staff An e ffective supervisory relati onship is a dynamic proces s

Supporting,Supervising and Retaining Peer Staff

Understand Why Supervising Peer Staff is Critical for Success

Identify Types of Supervision

Create a Successful Supervision Structure

Facilitate Peer Mentoring

Supervision Boundaries

Promote Professional Development

Reinforce Recovery Values

Module

Support Self-Care

Understand Why Supervising Peer Staff is Critical forSuccess

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Supporting, Supervising and Retaining Peer Staff

An effective supervisory relationship is adynamic process in which a worker whohas direct responsibility for carrying outspecific tasks is helped by a designatedresponsible staff person to make the bestuse of knowledge and skills to performthe requirements of the positioneffectively. In the context of employingpeer staff, the purpose of supervision isto help peer staff to be resourceful andeffective in performing the requirementsand duties of the position.

Managers , that solely support the workof peers and serve as their liaison withother staff.

Supervision of peer staff is critical for theemployee’s success in providing effectiveservices. Employers should intentionallydevelop supervision structures, includingspecific positions whenever possible, suchas Peer Coordinators and Clinical


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Peer staff supervisors should be trained inproviding supportive, clear and consistentsupervision in addition to the training inthe principles of recovery and the role ofpeers in delivering services. Providers areoften not aware of the unique needs ofpeers (for example, poverty or issues withmedication) and do not have theknowledge and understanding of thereasonable accommodations that they canprovide. The supervisor’s role should beone of leadership and requires a focusedapproach to recovery-oriented practices.

Peer Supervisor Skills and Capacities

Fully understand, embrace, celebrate, and promote the uniquerole of peer staff and how that staff will integrate into the serviceteam.

Be able to support peer staff in navigating self-disclosure,boundaries, and ethical dilemmas by using the Ethical Guidelines.

Promote a supportive, safe, and creative environment that involves opportunities to challenge processes, and to questionand reflect.

Collaboratively identify strengths, accomplishments, areas forgrowth, training needs, and professional goals, and seek outopportunities to refine skills and abilities.

Provide constructive feedback regularly, rather than waiting foran annual review.

Focus on developing relevant skills to meet daily demands and toprioritize the needs, satisfaction, and preferences of the peopleserved.

Support peer staff in developing the skills needed to understandand complete relevant documentation.

Prioritize workplace wellness and self-care.

Model mutual respect, consideration, and cooperation.

Source: Adapted from Tucker, S. J., Tiegreen, W., Toole, J., Banathy, J., Mulloy, D., &Swarbrick, M. (2013). Supervisor Guide: Peer Support Whole Health and Wellness. Decatur,GA: Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network, p. 26.


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PILLARS OF PEER SUPPORT SUPERVISION

1. Peer Specialist Supervisors are Trained in Quality Supervisory Skills.

2. Peer Specialist Supervisors Understand and Support the Role of the Peer Specialist.

3. Peer Specialist Supervisors Understand and Promote Recovery in their SupervisoryRoles.

4. Peer Specialist Supervisors Advocate for the Peer Specialist and Peer Specialist ServicesAcross the Organization and in the Community.

5. Peer Specialist Supervisors Promote both the Professional and Personal Growth of thePeer Specialist within Established Human Resource Standards.

Pillars of Peer Support Services Summit Six: Peer Specialist Supervision,The Carter Center Atlanta, GA October, 2014

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

SAMHSA video https://www.samhsa.gov/brss-tacs/video-trainings#peer-support

https://www.peerleadershipcenter.org/plc/Supervision_Resources.asp

https://www.samhsa.gov/brss-tacs/video-trainings#peer-support

https://www.peerleadershipcenter.org/plc/Supervision_Resources.asp


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In order to effectively support peer staffin their roles, supervision must betargeted to address different needs. Usinga variety of types of supervision thatcomplement each other helps ensure thatpeer workers are getting the broad baseof support they need to succeed.

Peer staff benefit from a combinationof the following types of supervision:

Managerial/Administrative: providesbasic support related to workcoordination, communication andadministration following administrativepolicies and procedures.

Formative/Educational: focuses ondevelopment of knowledge and job skillsrelated to the service as a whole, as wellas the specific role of the peer.

Supportive: helps peer staff withcoaching to strengthen self-awarenessand interpersonal skills for providingservices while maintaining self-care.


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Supervision Framework

Administrative

Orienting and placingstaff

Planning, assigning, anddelegating work

Monitoring, reviewing,and evaluating work

Coordinating work Sharing information

Explaining administrativefunctions

Liaising with community Assisting with time

management

Formative

Supportive

Assessing strengths andgrowth opportunities

Identifying the knowledgeand skills necessary to dothe work

Providing teaching, training,and learning resources,including professional andleadership development

Using learning opportunitiesthat arise when reviewingindividuals who are receiving support

Educating other staff on therole of peer support

Advocating Reassuring Encouraging

Recognizing effort Providing opportunities to

“vent” Giving perspective

Encouraging self-care Creating opportunities for

connecting with other peerstaff

Magellan’s Recovery and Resilience E-Learning Center – E-course 4: Effective Supervision of Peer Specialist

https://www.magellanhealth.com/training-site/education/continuing-education.aspx


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Whenever possible, employers shouldassign two supervisors to new peer staffso that different people can addressdifferent areas. For example, a memberof a clinical team can provide the day-to-day administrative supervision, and anexperienced peer can provide supportiveor educational supervision to peer staffmembers.

One way to help peers’ professionaldevelopment process is to include moreseasoned peer providers in thesupervision process, in order to drawupon their wisdom and expertise. Thistype of structure might include differentlevels: for example, Peer Apprentice,Advanced Beginner, Trained Worker,Experienced Worker, and Expert.


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Additionally, some organizations invite anindependent clinician to address mentalhealth and self-care issues throughperiodic supportive supervision. Havingsomeone external to the organizationprovide supervision on a monthly orquarterly basis can bring a reassuringlevel of objectivity to the process and canhelp give peers a larger perspective onany issues they may be facing. Anindependent clinician can also help peersdevelop the necessary skills to navigatechallenges within the regular supervisoryframework. This can be especially helpfulsince the clinician is not part of the day-to-day administrative structure of theorganization. For example, if a peerstruggles to communicate clearly withtheir direct supervisor, the independent

clinician can use their neutral andimpartial role to help the peer to identifystrategies for improving communication,minimizing frustration for both the peerand the direct supervisor.

Understanding the different types of peersupervision can help employers to createa successful supervision structure, whichwe’ll examine in the next section.


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In order to successfully support peerstaff, supervision must be structuredeffectively. The structure for supervisingpeer staff will depend on specificresources, staffing and goals and will varyfrom organization to organization. Inmost organizations, peer staff issupervised by a senior staff person whoholds a clinical, social worker or otherdegree. When available, senior peer staffcan serve as a mentor or providesupportive supervision. Supervisors canimplement management techniques thatsupport an inclusive workplace culturewhile simultaneously providingaccommodations that may promoteemployee success.

In addition to individual regularlyscheduled one-on one supervision, manyorganizations use the following types ofsupervision:

Group supervision facilitated by asupervisor allows for peers to learn fromeach other. This format is also helpful fordisseminating information, building acohesive team, and creating a sharedvision about the program. Ideally, peerstaff should be included in groupsupervision meetings as soon as they arehired, which will help them to getaccustomed to the program and thesupervision structure.

Group Supervision:


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Here are some tips for conducting effective individual and group supervision sessions:

Source: Adapted from Manual for Recovery Coaching and Personal Recovery Plan Development by D. Loveland and M. Boyle, 2005, Illinois Departmentof Human Services, Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, p. 25.

Provide an hour and a half of group supervisionon a weekly basis and at a regularly scheduledmeeting time

Use a standard format for each session. Forinstance, briefly review all individuals beingserved (no more than 15 minutes to review allindividuals served; withhold discussion onchallenging situations until later)

Always have an agenda and stick to timeframes

Identify agenda priorities and understand thatnot all elements need to be covered at everymeeting

Encourage participation and creativity

Respect opinions and ideas Use humor and have fun

Encourage punctuality and reward promptness. Encourage problem solving, but don’t solve

problems for staff Keep staff on track and avoid extended

discussions into other topics Always explore the connection between peer

support activities with the recovery plans thatpeople initially developed for themselves

Limit discussions on any one person to amaximum of 15 minutes and keep staffmembers focused on the primary and relevantissue of the person

https://bha.health.maryland.gov/CLINICAL%20SERVICES/Documents/ROSC/RC_ManualDASAedition7_22_05.pdf


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This type of supervision is based on thepremise that the group as a whole hasmore insight and wisdom than anindividual. Peers meet as a group to fulfillthe supervisory role – in contrast toGroup Supervision, there is no formalsupervisor present during these meetings.Peers work as a group to discusschallenges, discover strengths and findsolutions to issues in a mutually beneficialway. Together, they develop strategiesfor improving the peer support services inthe organization. It is important that thegroup understands that the focus of co-supervision is on the work, not on supportfor self-care.

Peer supervision is a good opportunity formore experienced peer staff to providesupport and valuable on-the-jobexperience to more junior staff. Seniorpeer staff can serve as role models tojunior staff and gain additional managerialexperience that can ready them forpositions of leadership in theorganization.

Co-Supervision

Peer Supervision


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Benefits of Co-Supervision Decreasing dependency on “expert”

supervisors and greater interdependencebetween colleagues

Increasing peer responsibility forassessing their own skills and those oftheir peers, and for structuring their ownprofessional growth

Increasing self-confidence, self-direction,and independence

Developing consultative and supervisoryskill

Using colleagues as models and mentors Building a sense of camaraderie and trust Creating a team characterized by mutually

supportive relationship

Source: https://dbhids.org/wp-content/uploads/1970/01/PCCI_Peer-Support-Toolkit.pdf

https://dbhids.org/wp-content/uploads/1970/01/PCCI_Peer-Support-Toolkit.pdf

"After 20 years ofSocial SecurityDisability, peer

employment didn’t just give me a job,it gave me purpose.I was empowered

to cultivate myskills as a PeerCounselor andtransition to a

successful full-time career in Mental

Health.”

Stephen, PeerSupport

Coordinator


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Mentoring can be a valuable professionaldevelopment tool for all staff, includingpeers. Peer mentoring usually takes placebetween a person who has lived througha specific experience (the peer mentor)and a person who is new to thatexperience (the peer mentee). Bothinformal and formal mentoring can bebeneficial for developing a professionalculture that embraces recovery and thepeer workforce.

(see Sample Guidelines below), includingthe duration of the mentorship. Amentorship relationship can be ongoingand a point of reference throughout apeer’s career, or it can be limited to aspecific timeframe (e.g. 3 months, 6months, 1 year). Depending on yourresources as an organization, you candecide what type of mentorship (formal,informal, structured/on-going) works bestfor you and your staff.

Informal mentoring develops on its ownbetween an individual staff member andthe desired mentor; formal mentoringinvolves a specific process to select andmatch mentor and mentee. Mentorshipsare typically structured according tospecific guidelines and procedures


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Here is an example of the roles of peer mentor and mentee and guidelines for their interactions, based on MHASF’s 6-month Peer Mentorship Program:

The mentee is the “gauge” to measure howinteractive and successful a mentoringconnection can be. By acknowledging thatthe development of the mentee’s career canbe enhanced through a series of plannedexperiences, the mentee can decide on theamount of help and guidance needed. Thementee identifies the skills and competenciesthey wish to gain and assumes the initiativeto ask for the help or guidance to achievetheir goals.

Each mentor is assigned a mentee with whomthey meet individually to identify goals,objectives and a timeline for achievingmentorship goals. By gaining insights from thementee’s background and history, the mentorwill work towards enhancing the mentee’sprofessional and personal development. Thementor’s responsibilities include sharing theirexpertise in their specific field with the menteeand building a relationship with the menteeoutside of work.

Mentee Role:

Mentor Role:


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1. Create a comfort agreement between mentor and mentee to ensure that feelings, concerns, and experiences arerespected. (See Sample Comfort Agreement.)

2. Develop a joint plan between mentor and mentee to meet regularly and communicate via emails, phone and additionalmedia. For example, decide a time to meet twice a month and identify the best contact mechanism.

3. Identify goals and a timeline to meet them. Consider whether the mentorship will be ongoing or of limited duration.

4. Look for multiple opportunities and experiences to enhance learning.For example, the mentor can invite the mentee toattend meetings as their guest and debrief after.

5. Maintain confidentiality of the relationship. For example, the mentor and mentee will agree ahead of time if specificinformation is to be shared with anyone else.

6. Develop and honor ground rules for the relationship. For example, the mentee could maintain an ongoing journal ofmentoring experiences, or at the conclusion of meetings both mentor and mentee might select topics for discussion at thenext session.

7. Provide regular feedback to each other and evaluate progress. For example, review learning goals once a month, discussprogress, and check in regularly.

8. Establish ongoing leadership development plans with supervisors throughout the term of the mentorship.

9. Have fun!

Sample Comfort Agreement Guidelines:


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Comfort Agreement

Ensure that all parties workingtogether feel valued andrespected throughout theprocess

Help to keep meetings on trackand focused

Are living documents and can berevisited and updated at anypoint during the duration of theprocess


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1. Keep professional development goals true to the mentee – don’t create a clone of the mentor

2. Respect differences - uniqueness is a strength

3. Be consistent in honoring commitments; if you can’t follow through on something, be clear in communicating that

4. Provide honest feedback - faking it is not making it

5. Don’t try to solve my problem for me - empower me to solve it myself

6. We have shared responsibility for what we co-create in this space

7. Appreciate what you’re giving and receiving

8. Mentoring is not about coaching and being coached; it’s about learning from each other and growing together

9. Honor your limits and boundaries

10. Giving advice is easy; listening is hard. Choose to listen!

Here’s a sample Comfort Agreement adapted from one developed by a mentor andmentee in MHASF’s 6-month Peer Mentorship Program:

Ensure that Supervisors Are Skilled in Building Trust andMaintaining Boundaries

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Boundaries, unless clearly understood,can be crossed very easily, especiallywhen both parties are taking on new rolesthat are unfamiliar. Peers entering theworkforce for the first time may havelimited experience in a professional workrelationship. In addition, they may haveunrealistic expectations regarding thisnew relationship, thinking it would besimilar to a student/teacher experience.

Supervisors also may have unrealisticnegative expectations because the peerlacks a degree, license, or a certain levelof work experience. As a result, they mayunconsciously expect less of a peer andlose the benefit of the expertise the peerbrings to the table.


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Each employee is unique andrelationships with supervisors will vary.Any new employee goes through alearning curve of getting to know theoffice culture, understanding therequirements of the job, and establishingrelationships with the supervisor, co-workers and clients.

Effective supervisors create realisticperformance expectations, adevelopmental plan that gives theemployee the skills and experience togrow into the job and support as needed.The supervisor is not an employee’stherapist; however, they will, at times, berequired to support an employee whendealing with difficult situations.


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On the other hand, the peer also needs torealize that the supervisor is not theirtherapist and maintain the relationshipaccordingly. This can be difficult if thepeer’s relationship with the companybegan as a service recipient.

reducing the level of trust established inthe relationship.

It is important for the supervisor andsupervisee to distinguish betweensupportive supervision and treatment. Attimes, effective supervision involvesdealing with work place tensions that cantrigger feelings unrelated to the worksituation. Boundaries can be crossed veryeasily in these moments; however,validating the peer’s feeling whileremaining focused on the work relatedissue can avoid crossing boundaries and

The primary characteristic thatdifferentiates between a peer and otheremployees is the use of their personal lifeexperiences in their day-to-day job. For apeer in a new job and for a companyhiring peers or the first time, this can be atricky situation that requires care to makethe relationship successful for the peer,the company and the individuals the peer


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serves. This too will require a learningcurve for both the peer and supervisor.Having a clear job description andperformance expectations will help thepeer establish their own boundariesaround what is appropriate and what theyare willing and ready to share. This willbe a work in progress as both thesupervisor and peer discover how best touse the peer’s life experience.

In the process of sharing their lifeexperience, peers are putting themselvesin a vulnerable position. Not everyone isready or prepared to do this work.Personal issues may emerge during theirwork with the supervisor and or a servicerecipient. Supervisors may be required toevaluate the impact this has on the workand the service being provided. It is inthe best interest of both the peer and thepeople they serve for the supervisor tomake the peer aware of the presence andthe impact of these issues.

If the peer is not already engaged in theirown psychotherapy or counseling outsideof the job, the supervisor may


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recommend the person do so to improvetheir job performance. The supervisormay recommend checking what theirhealth insurance covers or if availablemaking use of the Employee AssistanceProgram. Under no circumstances shouldthe supervisor take on the job ofproviding psychotherapy, counseling orrecovery support services.

Peers bring a valuable tool, their lifeexperience, to their jobs. Building trustand maintaining boundaries will make thisemployer/employee relationship mostsuccessful.

Sharing thesame visionand being

transparentabout ourgoals fromearly on


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In some ways, peers aren’t new to themental health workforce. People withlived experience have found jobs in themental health field for decades. Untilrecently, however, the jobs available tothem were mostly limited to what havebeen referred to as the “3 Fs”: Food,Floors, and Filing. Jobs for people withlived experience were often kept at entrylevel and seen as a favor to the peer,rather than an asset to the employer. Asthat changes and as a greater variety ofopportunities becomes available to peers,employers must be mindful thatintegrating peers into the workforce isn’ta matter of simply creating individualjobs, but of establishing sustainablecareer pathways.

While lived experience may be aqualification for a peer role, it isn’t alwaysenough to carry someone forwardprofessionally. To ensure that peer staffare equipped to move up and advanceinto new roles, especially supervisoryroles, employers must work to providepeers access to ongoing training. Thistraining may be role- or individual-specific, and supervisors should beproactive in working with both theemployer and peer staff to identifyrelevant internal and external trainings.


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Remember that peers are the experts ontheir own experiences, and that includestheir professional experiences. Be sure toinclude their feedback in the development of your peer-based programs, and createmeaningful opportunities for peers to giveinput on their roles and workenvironment.

different backgrounds; some may haveextensive professional resumés, whileothers may have little or no professionalexperiences. Standards and expectationsshould be communicated clearly andconsistently, in plain language, during on-boarding. Any further confusion ormiscommunication about them can beaddressed during supervision.

As discussed in Module 1, peer staff areaccountable employees of theorganization and should not be held to analternate set of standards, whether higheror lower. Like any employee, peers needrespect and accountability in order tosucceed and excel. However, be aware ofhow much your office culture relies onassumed knowledge. Peers come toprofessional roles from a variety of


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Finally, just as peers are accountable toemployers, employers must beaccountable to peers. If an attempt tointegrate peers into an existing workforceis unsuccessful, it can be tempting for anemployer to fault the peers – or even tosee the failure as proof that hiring peerswas a mistake. But while individual peersmay struggle for a variety of reasons thatmay or may not have anything to do withthe work environment, employers should

be ready to recognize that multiplechallenges with separate peers may belinked to weaknesses in organizationalstructure or hiring preparation. Byresponding to such challenges withopenness and seeing them asopportunities for dialogue and growth,employers can develop a professionalenvironment that allows peer employeesto thrive.


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Recovery Values Include:

Hope – recovery is possible foreveryone

Dignity – every person is worthyof being treated with respect

Lived Experience – every personis the expert on themselves

Self-Determination – everyperson can choose the path torecovery that’s right for them

Self-Advocacy – every personhas the right and responsibility toask for what they need

It may be intuitive for employers toassume that peer staff who are inrecovery need no support in upholdingrecovery values – after all, they’re livingexamples of recovery! However, thereality is more complicated. Every peer’sexperience is unique and each peer bringsa different history and context to theirrole. Even two peers with objectivelysimilar experiences may view them invery different ways. While every situationis different and while employers shouldavoid the assumption that every peer willneed the same type of support, it’simportant that employers have a clearunderstanding of recovery values andhow peer staff should support them.


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For example, a peer with experience ofaddiction who achieved recovery using a12-step model may need support workingfrom a harm reduction-based model.Without that support, they may struggleworking with clients who are at varyingpoints on the stages of changecontinuum, and see extendedprecontemplation or repeated relapses asreason to disengage from a peer supportrelationship. Making sure at the outsetthat all peer employees understand thereare many paths to recovery and that eachperson has the right to choose the paththat fits them can help avoid unnecessaryfrustrations for all parties.


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Peers may also need support around thevalue of dignity. It’s not uncommon forpeers to work with clients who triggerthem in various ways. In addition toproviding support aroundcountertransference, supervisors shouldbe ready to reinforce the message thatpeers working one-on-one or in groupfacilitation should treat every client with,in the words of the Copeland Center’sWRAP® Values and Ethics, “unconditionalhigh regard.”[1] Supervisors can also helppeers to develop strategies aroundhandling uncomfortable or triggeringsituations with clients so they areprepared in advance should such asituation arise. [1] Mary Ellen Copeland, 2009. Facilitator Training Manual,Mental HealthRecovery including Wellness Recovery Action Plan® Curriculum. Peach Press,Dummerston, Vermont.Section 1, p. 4.

With organizational commitment torecovery values and consistentreinforcement of those values to peerstaff, employers can ensure that peerstaff are able represent the organizationin the best possible light.

WRAP

Training

Support Self-Care

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Promoting and supporting self-care forpeer employees is one of the mostimportant things employers can do tocreate a successful, sustainable peerworkforce. All employees working inbehavioral healthcare, both peer- andnon-peer-identified, tend to be at highrisk of stress and burnout, so building awork culture that encourages self-carecan enhance all staff’s ability to cope withthe difficult work they do.

Despite an employer’s best efforts toprovide sufficient organizational supportfor self-care, some degree of stress isinevitable. Burnout happens. One possibleresult of stress and burnout is relapse.For employees with mental healthhistories, this may take the form ofincreased symptoms that can interferewith work. For employees with historiesof substance use, whether or not those

Employers can directly address theimpacts of burnout, stress, andcompassion fatigue by offering staffoptions for support. Again, while thesesupports may be especially helpful andnecessary for peer employees, allemployees can benefit from them. (See Sidebar.)

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employees identify publicly as peers,relapse can happen as drug or alcohol use that interferes with work. Employers cancontribute to peer employees’ recovery bymaking smart, informed choices on howto address relapse.

A supervisor’s role in addressing relapseshould be a supportive one. Make surethe employee has the tools and resourcesnecessary to overcome the stress andburnout that led to the event, and helpthe employee to assess whether they areable to fulfill the requirements of their jobor whether they need an accommodation.It’s important for employers to maintainupdated job descriptions for all

blood pressure would be.

First and foremost, employers of peerstaff should keep in mind that livedexperience is a main qualification for peeremployment. A peer’s lived experiencemay include mental health challenges,substance use, and addiction. The factthat a peer employee may currently bestruggling is an opportunity for theemployer to show support and to offerresources for self-care. Relapse shouldnever be approached as a disciplinarymatter, any more than diabetes or high

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employees, including peers, so that job-readiness assessments are easy tocomplete. If an employee needs anaccommodation, employers can contactlocal government disability offices forinformation on the next steps in theirarea. Supervisors should treat discussionsof an employee’s relapse withconfidentiality, as they would any otherhealth-related subject.

To avoid blurring boundaries, supervisorsshould not be in the role of counselor ortherapist. Instead, supervisors canrecommend that an employee accesstheir own support network, or refer theemployee to their Employee AssistancePlan or other available resources.

Finally, any kind of relapse may trigger anemployee’s self-stigma, their internalizedsense of shame from a lifetime ofnegative social messages about livingwith mental health challenges, substanceuse, and addiction. In extreme situations,a peer employee may suddenly quit orstop showing up for work. Calm,professional reassurance of support froma supervisor can help lessen the risk of anemployee making rash work-relateddecisions based on feeling unworthy orlike they’ve failed. Having policies andprocedures in place to outline supervisoryresponse to relapse-related incidents canhelp peer employees not only survive inthe workplace, but thrive.

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Employee Assistance Plans (EAPs).

Many employers already offer EAPs, but employees may not access them for a varietyof reasons, including stigma around accessing mental health services in the workplace.Employers can help create change at an administrative level by taking leadership inthe conversation around work and mental health. The decision to hire peer-identifiedstaff who self-disclose as part of their professional role can be a great opportunity tobring conversations about mental health into the open. However, employers should becautious about placing any burden on peer staff to facilitate these conversations or tobe the visible face of self-disclosure within the organization. Individual peers may becomfortable in that role or may even volunteer to help set an example for non-peer-identified employees in talking about mental health, but employers should not assumethat every peer is willing to do so. External trainers and experts, including the MentalHealth Association of San Francisco, are a good resource for navigating conversationsaround how to improve employee access of existing mental health benefits.

While not an exhaustive list, some examples of support employers canprovide around self-care are:

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Individual WRAP for the Workplace

The Wellness Recovery Action Plan®, or WRAP®, is an evidence-based, self-designed prevention and wellness process developed by the Copeland Centerand used by heath care and mental health systems around the world toaddress a variety of physical, mental health, and life issues. Many peeremployees may already have a personal WRAP® they’ve developed with acertified WRAP® facilitator; some peers may be certified WRAP® facilitatorsthemselves, and employers may want to consider highlighting WRAP® certification as a desirable qualification when hiring peer employees. Once anindividual has a personalized WRAP®, they can easily tailor it to meetspecific needs. Creating a WRAP® for the workplace can be a helpful tool forpeer employees in addressing work-related stress. More information onWRAP® can be found on the Copeland Center website,https://copelandcenter.com/ .

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https://copelandcenter.com/

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Organizational WRAP

WRAP® is not only a useful tool for individuals; agencies can also benefitfrom working with a trained WRAP® facilitator to develop an organizationalWRAP®. This plan examines key factors in maintaining organizational healthand resiliency, such as identifying Early Warning Signs that can be addressedwith wellness tools before they reach the point of crisis, and creating a planto recover if crisis is unavoidable. An organizational WRAP® is created by theorganization, with input from every level from leadership to front line staff, inorder to create a map of the organization’s strengths and vulnerabilities.

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Peer Convenings

Peer employees, especially those who are new to the mental healthworkforce, may feel isolated and disconnected from other peer professionals.This sense of disconnection can be worse when the number of peer workersat an organization is small. Peer convenings, in which peer professionalsmeet to network and exchange information with one another, can help tobridge this gap and support a larger infrastructure of peers within the mentalhealth workforce. An organization may wish to partner with other employerswho have also hired peer employees and collaborate to share space and/orcoordinate resources to hold regular convenings. These events also givepeers the opportunity to share mutual support strategies, mentor oneanother, and see examples of other peers successfully navigating the mentalhealth workforce. Since the field of peer support is relatively new, this kind ofpositive reinforcement and community connection can be especiallymotivating and inspiring for peer employees.

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Our challenge to you:

Be experimental

Venture into the unknown