NYAPRS Note: Thanks to Alan Doederlein, Olga Wuerz, Larry Davidson, Lisa Goodale, Tom Lane and Ron Manderscheid for their unprecedented House and Senate congressional briefings on peer support!
Peers Present the Case for Peer Support Services on Capitol Hill
Their message was heard loudly and received warmly by the congressional staff members
by Ron Manderscheid, PhD BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE, April 30, 2015
Truly authentic “firsts” are extremely rare in D.C. To experience two in a single day is amazing beyond the pale. Yet, that is exactly what happened on Wednesday, April 29. That day, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance—DBSA—hosted one Congressional Briefing for the House and another for the Senate. Never before has a peer group ever hosted even a single Congressional Briefing, let alone two. Just marvelous!
The purpose of these briefings was to offer a very convincing case for peer support services. This case is extremely strong: Both personal reflection and research evidence document the effectiveness of these services; good training is available to teach required skills; and the need for these services is very large and growing every day with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. One could not present a more convincing case about anything.
Read more at: http://www.behavioral.net/blogs/ron-manderscheid/peers-present-case-peer-support-services-capitol-hill#