Peer support as part of the integrated care model: Integrated experience with a holistic eye

This workshop will describe Psychosocial Rehabilitation & Peer Services (PSR), an expanded component of Mercy Care's Integrated Behavioral Health programming, with an emphasis on the peer-helping-peer focus on wellness and recovery, rather than on illness and disability. The Integrated Experience of PSR is a group treatment approach involving collaboration between providers of various disciplines with the common goal of improving the patients’ care, welfare, stability and overall level of functioning. PSR helps adults with varying levels of comorbid behavioral health and chronic medical concerns in learning how to better manage their identified mental health issues and to develop healthier coping skills. Programmatically, the focus shifts from clinician-focused treatment to reliance on individuals living in recovery from mental health and/or substance abuse issues providing peer-to-peer support to others, drawing on their own experiences. Programming provides job training, adult literacy, fitness and health education, communication skills, conflict resolution, anger management and mindfulness expressions. The peer-to-peer approach proves to be both rewarding and motivational, serving as a lifeline for individuals trying to further their education and explore who they are as individuals.