Interconnected Benefits Derived from Peer Support

Peer Support provides benefits to the individual participant, peer supporter, health care system  and the surrounding community. This dynamic created from the integration of peer and professional services created the need for a National Standard to insure that veterans in recovery received quality service at all points in the recovery process. Thru research the DCoE and the VA have created these..,

Thrity-Three Critical Competencies for VA Peer Support

Addressing Stigma

Managing internalized stigma

Managing environmental stigma

Communications Skills

Effective listening and asking questions

Communication styles and verbal and nonverbal communication

Conflict resolution

Cultural Competence

Understand how ethnicity, race, spirituality, gender, sexual orientation, local community and other sub-cultures may influence recovery.

Group Facilitation Skills

Understanding group dynamics and interactions.

Knowing how to use support groups

Managing Crisis and Emergency Situations

Early warning signs of illness' symptoms worsening

Crisis prevention, using resources early

Crisis interventions

An understanding of suicide prevention

Ability to work through challenging situations with veterans who are under the influence of substances, angry, in psychosis or a non-verbal state

Personal safety issues

Peer Support Principles

Being a role model

Instilling hope

Being an advocate

Knowing principal duties of peer support staff

Professional Development and Workplace Skills

Ethics

Boundary issues and dual relationships

Ability to work effectively with professionals on an interdisciplinary team

Recovery Tools

Solving problems using solution-focused strategies

Telling your personal recovery story, being mindful of who you are addressing

Participating in self-help groups

Teaching others how to manage self-help and combat negative self talk

Recovery Principles

Overview of psycho-social rehabilitation

Components of recovery

Stages of recovery

Peer support role in psycho-social rehabilitation

Understanding Different Illnesses

Major psychiatric conditions in DSM IV

Addictive disorders

Co-occurring disorders

Medications and side effects

Our Final Words

These 33 competencies have been developed and adopted by the VA ensuring consistency in the training received by future peer supporters.

Content-based, Topic-based, and Skills-based training are combined with mock group scenarios enabling the future peer supporter to learn how to respond to challenging peer interactions.