Peer support is a crucial piece of the puzzle needed to offer a comprehensive mental health support system for responders and their families.
Excellent peer support programs are evidence based and are created and led by peers with lived experience dealing with the mental health and/or substance abuse issues that often arise from exposure to work-related trauma.
Creating a culture of peer support where open communication and pro-active approaches to trauma response are the norm will foster positive mental health practices and coping skills.
Seeing Success
One such program has recently been initiated in the Northeast Region of Tennessee. The Disaster Mental Health committee of the Northeast Regional Healthcare Preparedness Coalition recently hosted an evidence-based training for responders from VolunPEER titled Survivor Informed Peer Support (SIPS).
This training was created and is taught by Cherie Castellano, MA, CSW, LPC, AAETS. Castellano is a national expert in the field of peer support. She is affiliated with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation and has traveled the country and world speaking and teaching about peer support.
In 2022, Castellano created a non-profit organization entitled VolunPEER to offer survivors of trauma the ability to Get, Give & Grow VolunPEER peer support to foster healing and resilience building in a community-based approach.
In 2023, Castellano created Survivor Informed Peer Support, a new model of peer support at VolunPEER to offer effective care and innovative services. Please check out more about this organization and its programs online.
Tasks
VolunPEER’s “Survivor Informed Peer Support/SIPS” model has four tasks:
Task 1: Reflection & Connection,
Task 2: Collect Information, Risk Assessment, and Trauma Resource management,
Task 3: Wellness & Resilience Building & Mind/Body Connection, and
Task 4: VolunPEER “Hand off” for Sustainability with Community Support.
Peer Support Training
This training was presented as a two-day training with day one consisting of multiple aspects of the peer support training model and day two utilized as a survivor informed peer support train-the-trainer.
This allowed those in attendance to take the training back to their agencies and train others while building a strong peer support team within their responder agencies.
Some have decided to build peer support teams to be shared by multiple agencies within a certain city or county. Representation from EMS, fire, law enforcement, dispatch, public health and mental health attended the training.
Ongoing Training
This is not a “one and done” type of training, VolunPEER offers continued free online and phone support to answer questions and troubleshoot any issues their peer trainers may have.
The major benefit to implementing peer support strategies has been shown to be increased uptake by responders who feel more comfortable talking to a peer than a mental health professional.
This program does not eliminate the need for mental health professionals who must be consulted and utilized for mental health issues such as unresolved severe anxiety and/or depression or suicidal ideation or threats.
The program teaches that a good relationship and warm hand-off procedure with designated mental health providers is essential to provide high quality care for responders.
The culture change must start at the top with leadership making mental health care and peer support a part of the job description. Peer support teams come from the boots on the ground. Peers caring for peers is where it all comes together.
On November 6, 2024, the Northeast Tennessee Region will host a one-day Responder Mental Health Conference titled: “It’s All About Peer Support.” Castellano will be the keynote speaker.
You may contact Melissa Taylor at Melissa.A.Taylor@tn.gov for more information or if you are interested in attending.
