Page = Title

&nb= sp; &nbs= p;=20 Newsletter for the Peer Support and Wellness = Center

JANUARY 30,=20 2008 =

Peer = support has=20 taken a whole new direction at the Peer Support and Wellness Center in = Decatur.=20 It focuses on our wellness instead of our illness.

=93Peer support is=20 about learning and growing within a mutual relationship,=94 cites = Shery=20 Mead, internationally recognized training consultant for Peer Crisis and = Respite=20 Centers around the country. Mead developed the

Intentional = Peer=20 Support training = and recently=20 facilitated it at the Peer Support and Wellness Center in January=20 2008.

Intentional peer=20 support begins with connecting with peers, getting insight into their = world=20 view, developing mutuality, and finally, moving forward in a new = way.

This = is different=20 from the traditional mental health system that presumes the expertise of = the=20 helper. In these traditional relationships people lose their sense = of how=20 to negotiate the =93give and take =94of a relationship. According = to Mead, as=20 mental health patients we learned how to be professional = recipients.

Her = own=20 experiences within the mental health system led Mead to form her=20 philosophy of peer support. Attending Social Work school and working in = the=20 Domestic Violence program exposed her to an unsettling dynamic. She = observed the=20 courage of women who broke the cycle of abuse and left their situations = to come=20 into the program. Once they got there, however, they were sent to = professionals=20 who labeled them as mentally ill.

Mead = saw their=20 discouragement as they entered the mental health system and, at times, = gave up=20 custody of their children.

=93The outcome of=20 intentional peer support is that we

develop healthy=20 relationships,=94 emphasizes Mead. We don=92t rely on services, = but have a=20 framework for healing relationships=97not healing only the individual. = Both people=20 work at it.=94

What = does this=20 look like in a power-shared relationship? Very often this type of=20 relationship involves conflict. Working through change involves = conflict=20 and peers have to find the place where learning is happening. It = involves the=20 art of moving in and out of connection with each other and the outcome = of this=20 process forms the essence of true community.

=93It = comes with=20 practice,=94 cites Mead. =93We look for those light bulb moments = of=20 illumination as the essence of our achievement. Learning versus = helping=20 has forced me to invite people into my life who push my thinking,=94 she = emphasizes, =93We risk a lot in challenging each other but that is = the only=20 thing that leads toward health and growth.=94

She = invites=20 Georgia peers to tell her how peer support has affected their thinking. = Her=20 email address is:

Shery466@comcast.net

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