[brad86]

I'm wanting to get into peer support counseling and want to know if anyone has any experience with this. I can see the obvious benefits of this but i've also read online that people think it exploits people saying that it's a cheap way to keep people from going off their meds. Any advice would be helpful

[HALLIEBETH87]

They did peer support at a crishs unit I've been to.,, we all hated it. It was like all they did was brag and make us feel dumb.

[brad86]

What do you mean they bragged?

[HALLIEBETH87]

Literally all they talked about themselves. There was no "support" lol

[Ocean Swimmer]

I belong to a support group thru NAMI.
DBSA. For people with bipolar.
It's in person once or week. I like it.

[Mountainbard]

I've heard good things about DBSA groups. I was involved in a peer support group years ago for depression, and found it helpful. Nobody talked about it being peer support counseling though-- peer support and counseling seem to me to be mutually exclusive terms. Peers can provide support. Professionals provide counseling.

[HALLIEBETH87]

DBSA groups rock.

I was referring specifically to a peer support "specialist"Who led a group at the crisis unit.

[brad86]

So basically some guy who is bipolar, well treated and stable talked about his own recovery and how he's fine now? I can see how that can come across as, "see i'm fine, just do what I did, you can learn a lot from ME because i'm so great."

One thing I know is that using people who have LIVED experiences as opposed to exclusively professional's who understand bipolar but don't really UNDERSTAND bipolar, is somewhat knew. In washington state, peer support "counselors" have only been around since 2005, so I think a lot of work still needs to be done to use these peers unique perspective more effectively. The specialist you saw may also have just been self absorbed, and bad at counseling; but he did go through all that training to try and help people, so his hearts in the right place. I'm concerned i'm going to go through 40 hours of training and get into a clinic and find it sucks and I hate it, but I would love to do what I can to make it better.

Anybody have any feedback?

[HALLIEBETH87]

I'm sure you would go great

As for "Maureen"..,she basically told us to take meds. And how she's doing great

[brad86]

One criticism the whole peer support movement has gotten, which is only a decade or two old, is that it's exploitive and the state uses it as a cheap way to get people to stay on their meds. I think this Maureen lady went about leading this group by saying hey take your meds crazy people, is because that's what they are trained to do.

The state saves a lot of money if people like us stay on our meds instead cycling from my meds are working, to I don't need my meds!, to I need to go to the hospital!, to I should stay on my meds, rinse and repeat haha. They pay a peer support counselor $13/hr, which is damn cheap, and their research apparently finds that people are more likely to stay on their meds if peers tell them to, as opposed to stupid doctors who don't really know what it's like.

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[HALLIEBETH87]

Makes sense...