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#1
Dec 04, 2016, 11:27 PM
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Hello. I am here to ask a simple question.
BG: I am graduating from college (woohoo!) and am applying to jobs right now, and some of the most interesting ones I've seen and applied to are for peers only, and have peer in the title. I am also going into the mental health field (applying to grad school for a counseling program). I have had extensive experience in the field as a client (several hospitalizations for psychosis) but I'm in remission and possibly recovery, even if there's no paradigm for that right now in modern psych. Tl;dr I have heard from some pretty reliable sources (job coach, an LMHC), that having a peer job will create issues in further employment. Even though the entire point of the mental health field is to reduce stigma, I am told employers will look down on the fact that I am a peer. I argued that this wouldn't matter if I had my licensure, already proving my ability to work. Have any of you had experience with this? If you have links to anything, that would be highly appreciated. I usually don't resort to making a new account somewhere just to ask one question, but I had trouble finding the correct keywords for a google search. Thanks for your help 
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#2
Dec 07, 2016, 04:04 PM
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Hello JeffBuckley: I don't know the answer to you question. But I noticed this was your first post here on PC. So I thought I would simply say welcome. Perhaps another member may yet have something to offer with regard to this. Good luck with your job search!
__________________
"I may be older but I am not wise / I'm still a child's grown-up disguise / and I never can tell you what you want to know / You will find out as you go." (from: "A Nightengale's Lullaby" - Julie Last) |
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#3
Dec 07, 2016, 04:49 PM
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Quote:
I noticed you have a thich nhat hanh quote on your profile... he has influenced me immensely in my life XDanyway... apparently nobody knows the answer to my question. I'll update if I have any further info for completeness sake |
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#4
Dec 07, 2016, 05:32 PM
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If you are going to grad school, you will find more open minds there----and, being a peer can be a great advantage at times, there are times it is a challenge but that is true in any human service field. I would do what appeals to you, and get the experiences you find valuable. Also, depending on your grad track, you can be your own employer/choose a place that believes in peer work. (I worked in the mental health field for a long time, loved it, and found times that my own experience was not only valuable, but valued.) In "those days" I only disclosed my own hx (or experiences) when I felt it was appropriate and would help someone. I began to talk more with my professional colleagues, and, you bet, lots of us were drawn, knowingly or not, to the field by our own problems. I do not think you would want to work for any agency/system that maintains an "us/them" stance.
Hey, whatever you decide, best of luck and get all you can out of it for yourself and others.
__________________
"...don't say Home / the bones of that word mend slowly...' marie harris |
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#5
Dec 09, 2016, 10:18 PM
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Sorry, I'm a little late to this thread. I'm not a therapist, so I don't know that I have good, accurate information to provide, but I had a couple thoughts.
I'm surprised to see that this is frowned on. If you haven't started school to be a therapist yet, you're obviously not in a position to be a "professional" - I'd think that doing peer counseling (assuming that's what you're looking at?) would be a great way to start getting some experience, learning the skills, and showing that you're interested in the field. I don't understand why professionals are telling you not to do that, and I don't know if I'm missing something important? A friend's daughter is in school to become a therapist, and my friend mentioned that his daughter is doing a lot of volunteer work (and I thought peer counseling too, as part of that), but I don't know the details. Are you on reddit, by chance? There's a forum over there for therapists to post professional questions. This seems like it might fit in with the type of questions that they get from students and people considering the field. They don't allow questions from clients (i.e. you can't post and ask for a diagnosis, or ask about your own treatment) - but asking about whether peer counseling jobs would hurt your chances of getting into the field should be fair game. Here's the link: https://www.reddit.com/r/psychotherapy/ Congratulations on your graduation (yay!) and welcome to psych central! |
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#6
Dec 10, 2016, 03:35 PM
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What is a peer job?
__________________
 What if I fall? Oh, my dear, but what if you fly? Primary Dx: C-PTSD and Severe Chronic Treatment Resistant Major Depressive Disorder Secondary Dx: Generalized Anxiety Disorder with mild Agoraphobia. Meds I've tried: Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Effexor, Remeron, Elavil, Wellbutrin, Risperidone, Abilify, Prazosin, Paxil, Trazadone, Tramadol, Topomax, Xanax, Propranolol, Valium, Visteril, Vraylar, Selinor, Clonopin, Ambien Treatments I've done: CBT, DBT, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), Talk therapy, psychotherapy, exercise, diet, sleeping more, sleeping less... |
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This is an old thread. You probably should not post your reply to it, as the original poster is unlikely to see it.|
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