Resource Library

Data-driven decision making for recovery and recovery support services is possible. Indiana has made some key policy changes at a state and agency level that increase the availability of data across agencies. The Recovery Supports Workgroup of the Division of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA) is now using this data to evaluate gaps in key recovery supports, to make the recommendations, and track outcomes. In this session everyone will learn innovative ways of looking for, collecting, and utilizing recovery-specific data that drives and enhances recovery outcomes.

Effective substance use disorder (SUD) treatment requires providers to understand what an individual genuinely needs to do to change substance use behaviors. An essential element in motivational SUD interventions is helping people who misuse substances raise awareness of their values and hopes for a healthy life. Using strategic conversational approaches can increase clients’ internal motivations to take actions toward wellness

The role of a peer support worker complements, but does not duplicate or replace the roles of therapists, case managers, and other members of a treatment team. Peer support workers bring their own personal knowledge of what it is like to live and thrive with mental health conditions and substance use disorders. They support  people’s progress towards recovery and self-­- determined lives by sharing vital experiential information and real examples of the power of recovery. The sense of mutuality created through mutuality sharing of experience is influential in modeling recovery and offering hope (Davidson, Bellamy, Guy, & Miller, 2012)

Video Trainings from BRSS TACS:  Access video trainings that promote recovery-oriented services and supports by highlighting new knowledge areas, hot topics, and cutting-edge programs.
This webpage lists links to numerous training videos. All topics are relevant to Peer Recovery Support though you can choose a topic from the menu at the top of this webpage.
Topics include:

• Peer Support Service
• Recovery Support Services Funding
• Recovery-Oriented Systems and Services
• Systems Integration
• Treatment and Recovery Supports

Note: Each training video listed has the date it was recorded. This website is hosted by SAMHSA.

Substance use disorders (SUD) are, for many, chronic conditions that are typically associated with severe impairments in multiple areas of functioning. ‘Recovery’ from SUD is for most, a lengthy process; improvements in other areas of functioning do not necessarily follow the attainment of abstinence. The current SUD service model providing intense, short-term symptom-focused services is ill suited to address these issues. A recovery-oriented model of care is emerging that provides coordinated recovery support services using a chronic care model of sustained recovery management. Information is needed about substance users’ priorities, particularly persons in recovery who are not currently enrolled in treatment, to guide the development of recovery oriented systems. As a first step in filling this gap, we present qualitative data on current life priorities among a sample of individuals that collectively represent successive recovery stages (N = 356). Findings suggest that many areas of functioning remain challenging long after abstinence is attained, most notably employment and education, family/social relations, and housing. While the ranking of priorities changes somewhat across recovery stages, employment is consistently the second most important priority, behind working on one’s recovery. Study limitations are noted and the implications of findings for the development and evaluation of recovery oriented services are discussed.

The insights of people who have experienced mental health issues are at the core of recovery frameworks. The inclusion of peer support workers in clinical care teams is crucial to a recovery-supportive focus. Peer support workers facilitate egalitarian spaces for non-peer staff and consumers to frankly discuss the lived experience of mental illness. This study was part of a larger evaluation study which aimed to explore the implementation of a newly formed community-based mental health team in South-East Queensland, Australia. The paper reports the role of peer support workers and answers two research questions: “How is peer support work constructed in an interprofessional clinical care team?” and (2) “How do interprofessional mental health clinical care teams respond to the inclusion of peer support workers as team members?” Three themes were identified: peer support worker’ ability to navigate a legitimate place within care teams, their value to the team once they established legitimacy and their ability to traverse the care landscape. Ultimately, successful integration in interprofessional teams was dependent upon the ability of clinical staff to focus on unique strengths that peer support workers bring, in addition to lived experience with mental illness as a carer or consumer.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders and is associated with enormous public health costs. Although AUD and other addictive behaviors have been described as chronic relapsing conditions, most individuals who develop AUD will eventually recover. This narrative review provides an overview of definitions of recovery, with a focus on recovery from AUD. The definitions reviewed include those developed by key stakeholder groups, as well as definitions derived from recent quantitative and qualitative studies of individuals who meet criteria for AUD and attempt to resolve their problems with or without treatment or who self-identify as pursuing or achieving recovery. The literature reviewed supports a definition of recovery as an ongoing dynamic process of behavior change characterized by relatively stable improvements in biopsychosocial functioning and purpose in life. The review concludes that definitions of recovery that rely solely on abstinence from alcohol and the absence of AUD symptoms fail to capture the multidimensional and heterogeneous pathways to recovery that are evident among individuals in general population and clinical samples.

From the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, this peer-led program helps to prepare your peer consultants to improve the health of your clients and counter the high incidence of chronic physical health conditions among people living with behavioral health conditions.

For numerous reasons, including several barriers to accessing quality healthcare, people with serious mental illness (SMI) have a mortality rate between 1.5 to 3 times greater than those without mental illness. Prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, peer support specialist programs established by providers exist to address some of these challenges that impede healing and overall health of persons with serious mental illness. Peer support specialists are persons in recovery who use their lived and shared experience to bridge interpersonal and systemic barriers to accomplishing the health and wellness goals of others with mental illness.

National Council for Mental Wellbeing, in partnership with the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), hosted this webinar in April of 2021 to explore the benefits of peer support services, research findings on peer services, practical guidelines on setting up peer support programs, and how COVID-19 health challenges have affected peer support services among people with SMI.

This discussion guide is intended to elicit a comprehensive and concrete conversation about language, stigma, and discrimination as a means of strengthening care systems and ensuring that people who seek care for HIV and/or substance use disorders, including opioid use disorder, are treated with respect and dignity. The guide includes five discussion packages, which are intended to be used by individuals in state health departments, agencies, and service organizations providing services to people with HIV and/or substance use disorders. This tool also provides background, instructions, and resources to help you implement the discussion packages.

This is the third webinar in a three-part series on workforce recruitment and retention in behavioral health, with a specific focus on the field of addictions. In this webinar, Dr. Christine Chasek, Director of the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska, shares strategies for recruiting and retaining skilled behavioral health professionals to rural areas. Dr. Michael Flaherty offers insight on recruiting and retaining peer support workers.

This document accompanies the Clinical Guidance for Treating Pregnant and Parenting Women with Opioid Use Disorder and Their Infants publication. This fact sheet offers information about child welfare systems and what the health care provider's role is in developing a Plan of Safe Care.