WHAT IS INTENTIONAL PEER SUPPORT? PRESENTED BY DAVID DEDRICKSON; PEER SUPPORT, RECOVERY MENTOR VETERAN
Jan 20, 2018
WHAT IS INTENTIONAL PEER SUPPORT?
PRESENTED BYDAVID DEDRICKSON; PEER SUPPORT, RECOVERY MENTOR VETERAN
BIG CLINICAL DEFINITION:
Intentional Peer Support is a way of thinking about
purposeful relationships.
It is a process where both people (or a group of people) use
the relationship to look at things from new angles, develop
greater awareness of personal and relational patterns, and
to support and challenge each other as we try new things.
WHAT IS A “PEER”
A ‘peer’ is someone who has been there. People with
similar experiences may be able to listen, give hope
and guidance toward recovery in a way that is different,
and may be just as valuable, as professional services
Can you think of examples of what a peer means
to you
WHAT PEER SUPPORT IS NOT:
It is not about providing treatment
It is not about taking care of someone or
being a paid friend.
It is not based on psychiatric/medical models
or diagnoses
WHAT PEER SUPPORT IS
Peer support is about both giving and receiving
It is trauma-informed, recognizing the value of exploring "what has
happened to you?"
Peer support encourages each of us to re-evaluate how we've come to
know what we know
It is about creating relationships that we can use to take a bigger-picture
look at how we have learned to operate in the world and what we want.
IPS IS DIFFERENT FROM TRADITIONAL SERVICE RELATIONSHIPS BECAUSE:
It doesn’t start with the assumption of “a problem.”
Instead people are taught to listen for how and
why each of us has learned to make sense of our
experiences, and then use the relationship to create
new ways of seeing, thinking, and doing.
IPS IS DIFFERENT FROM TRADITIONAL SERVICE RELATIONSHIPS BECAUSE:
IPS: Promotes a ‘trauma-informed’
way of relating- instead of asking
‘what’s wrong’ we think about ‘what
happened’?
IPS IS DIFFERENT FROM TRADITIONAL SERVICE RELATIONSHIPS BECAUSE:
IPS : looks beyond the notion of individuals
needing to change and examines our lives in the
context of our relationships and communities.
IPS IS DIFFERENT FROM TRADITIONAL SERVICE RELATIONSHIPS BECAUSE:
Peer Support relationships are viewed as
partnerships that enable both parties
to learn and grow- rather than as one
person needing to ‘help’ another.
IPS IS DIFFERENT FROM TRADITIONAL SERVICE RELATIONSHIPS BECAUSE:
Instead of a focus on what we need to
stop or avoid doing, we are
encouraged to move towards what
and where we want to be.
3 PRINCIPALS AND 4 TASKS
FROM HELPING TO LEARNING
Learning versus helping: IPS is specifically about building a relationship where both people learn and grow, rather than one person helping the other (or taking it in turns to help each other). This changes the dynamics of the relationship - both are there to learn, not to "fix problems."
FROM INDIVIDUAL TO RELATIONSHIP
Individual versus Relationship: Rather than focus on one
person (usually the one who has "problems"), IPS specifically
shifts the focus to the relationship. Each person is encouraged
to be present to the other and to engage in a way that is real.
This also encourages a shift away from "helping" to both
people using the relationship to learn more about themselves
and their relationships.
FROM FEAR TO HOPE
Fear versus Hope and possibility: IPS is about
approaching discomfort and fear in new ways.
Rather than operating from a place of fear, we
operate from a place of hope. This hope is
underpinned by the knowledge that there is learning
to be gained by moving through discomfort.
FOUR CENTRAL TASKS IN INTENTIONAL PEER SUPPORT
1. Connection
2. Worldview
3. Mutuality
4. Moving Toward
CONNECTION:
Connection: Connection is the core of peer support.
It is the powerful sense when we realize that someone else
"gets it." It is the beginning of building trust. But the
connection isn't permanent - we have to work at it; when
we notice disconnection, we need to be willing to explore
what's happening.
WORLD VIEW:
Worldview: Through honest connection we can then explore
with each other, seeking to understand how we have come to
know what we "know." Together, we look at how we make
sense of what's going on, and learn to sit with the differences
in our worldviews. This process may challenge us to rethink
our ideas and the "stories" we tell ourselves.
MUTUALITY:
Mutuality: In a relationship based on IPS principles, both
people learn, grow and are challenged through the
relationship. Mutuality is not to be confused with reciprocity -
people taking it in turns to help each other. Mutuality means
being in relation with another person, while staying present
and aware of our own reactions, worldview, needs and
assumptions.
MOVING TOWARD: Moving Towards: Instead of thinking about moving
away from our problems (and what we don't want),
in IPS each person in the relationship reflects on
what we want to move towards. Often, in mental
health, focusing on our problems keeps us stuck.
MOVING TOWARD - (CONTINUED):
It's important to note that this task is not just about "positive
thinking" or "problem solving," but builds on the work in the other
steps - the mutuality and real connection of the relationship, and
thoughtfully reconsidering our worldview and how we have come
to know what we "know" about ourselves and the world. In some
ways, this last task arises naturally out of the other three -
the tasks are in order for good reason!
It is one of the most beautiful compensations in life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. —Ralph
Waldo Emerson
“[Peer support] has helped me to have hope and faith. [Peer support] has
helped in my optimism toward life again and has helped me cope successfully with family matters and
many others.” Quote from a consumer who received peer support.
SUMMARY
So all in all, intentional peer support is a way of life; a way of communicating that honors individual experience as well as relational growth.
It is a system of giving and receiving that ultimately helps us build healthier communities all the way around.
MAYBE ASK FOR PEER SUPPORT?