Aug 20 2008
Mental Health Humor: Peer to Peer Support, RPS, Recovery Peer Specialist
Mental Health Humor: Peer to Peer Support
We are just getting some left over rain from Tropical Storm Fay but other than that, it is a good day. I am getting ready for a week of training next, starting the 25th to the 29th in Tampa. I’ve been waiting for this training for a while. It will be one of my last steps to becoming a Recovery Peer Specialist (RPS). I have the 1000 hours I need and just have to get a few things together but I’m almost there. What does this mean and how will it change what I’m doing already? Well, the truth is it is just an official title. I get to add a few letters after my name and basically do what I’m doing already. I’ll just have more training under my belt. Oh and the best thing is I might be able to use it to get part-time work. A few places have told me once I get my peer-specialist certificate they will be able to hire me. But I think what it does for me personally is give my 5 years of volunteering a little more credibility. One thing that is lacking when you go to talk to mental health professionals. Not all the time but for a good majority of them, we are in their eyes just clients and consumers. The concept of self-care and peer to peer support is sometimes just looked at as a good idea but not essential. Sadly, I have been yelled at by a doctor for being my own advocate, asking questions and getting involved in my own treatment which did not sit well. He was well aware of my work with the local support groups and took offense that I knew something about my own needs for help… At one point he even pointed to his degree on the wall and told me when I have one of them, I can start questioning him!
Peer to peer support is vital for staying on the road to recovery and this week while I get ready for a week of training and studying I think back to the cartoon that is now being used by many people in the peer to peer movement.
Permission granted for non-profit use by artist: Chato B. Stewart.
^^^ When using this cartoon on your non-profit blog you must link us.^^^
Thanks for dropping by:
Chato B. Stewart
Mental Health Advocate - Cartoonist - and a few other things!
http://www.mentalhealthhumor.com
“Using Humor to Heal and Educate with badly drawn cartoons.”
——-*-*-*-*-*-*-*–*-
If you liked this, please subscribe to my RSS feed and/or email feed .
Subscribe to Mental Health Humor by Email or RSS FEED
How To Support Us: Visiting The site Daily and Telling your Friends and Family about Us. Here is my MS Word Document Flyer
for our blog. Please down load it, print it, and pass it out.
Who is this big, sexy man? Look at my mug shot.
Hey are you my friend on MySpace YET?
Stay up-to-date with the new cartoons and other fun stuff with my RSS feed.http://mentalhealthhumor.com/MHHf.doc The file is Word Doc 3mg
Ask me about Recovery Peer,Recovery Peer Specialist,RPS,Advocate, cartoons, jokes, Mental Health Cartoons, mental health humor or what ever you want.
Thx electricmousie, that was the last time I seen him but it got worse before it got better, then next dor could not even remember who I was and even put me on such a high does of one med that it could have killed me… LOL how ironic would that be… I ended up getting black list from that place and they refused to see me… I.e. write me any meds… I called HIPPA but they already had an issue with them closed the place down in one eara then then open up under a different name and got out of state licensing so now the local HIPPA… But I’m sure we all have horror stories.