Pennsylvania Peer Support Coalition Podcast

Richard Blews from the Grapevine Center drops by our podcast to discuss all of the great work they are doing in Butler County and to share some of his insights from his journey of recovery.

This month we welcome Kathy Quick, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers' Association, as our guest. We have a very candid conversation about PMHCA and the state of Pennsylvania's recovery services.

In this month's episode our guests talk about the unique challenges facing youth and young adults and how they are working to improve behavioral health services for this group.

In this episode, Drew Neal, a Certified Recovery Specialist (CRS) drops in to discuss recovery services, the differences and similarities between a CRS and a Certified Peer Specialist, as well as some of the challenges facing the CRS world currently.

In this episode two Certified Peer Specialists discuss their experiences with coming full circle from being an individual receiving services to working to support others.

This extra episode is intended to give you an opportunity to get to know us better as hosts. We hope you enjoy getting more familiar with us.

Chris Lunsford, a member of the Call for Change Steering Committee, joins us to discuss the updates being made to this essential document guiding us toward a recovery-oriented system. Chris is a CPS from the Lehigh Valley and works for PMHCA (Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumer's Association) in a position funded by the PaPSC Appalachian Regional Commission grant.

Wendy Heatley joins us to discuss the power in language and how we can all learn to use respectful language within the behavioral health field.

In our second episode about Managed Care Companies and their relation to individual recovery, we sit down with Kim MacDonald-Wilson and Tracy Carney from Community Care Behavioral Health.

In this episode we explore the topic of moving from self-harm to self-care with Abigail Boccardi. Abigail is a Certified Peer Specialist in the state of Pennsylvania and shares openly about this part of her recovery journey.

Diana Fullem has been a peer and advocate for peer support for many years. She helped form the PaPSC in the early days and has been integral in making it what it is today. Enjoy a conversation about the beginnings of her own peer-run agency and the PaPSC in this episode.

Harvey Rosenthal, an important figure in the history of Peer Support, joins us to discuss our roots. It's always important to remember where we came from.

In this episode we sit down with Heidi Bryan, a suicide prevention advocate with her own story, and discuss the topic with the deference it deserves.

Corrynn Brown, a CPS out of Philadelphia, joins us to discuss the use of pronouns. We dive deep into the topic and get personal with our stories.

Mike is a Certified Peer Specialist in Pennsylvania and an Advanced Level WRAP Facilitator. He facilitates trainings in the greater Philadelphia area and the surrounding counties. He also works with peers who reside behind the walls of our County jails and prisons . He takes great pride in supporting peers to explore hopes and possibilities. Presently, he is part of the team developing the operational work at IDEYAS Training Academy of PA. Also, he has the privilege to support community support groups and workshops on various recovery topics with Creating Increased Connections within Montgomery county. His mantra states, "the only way I can be my best happens if I can support your best - believing we can all be our best together." Join us as we explore Mike's experience and ask questions about peer support.

In this first of two episodes about Managed Care Companies and how they can be partners in recovery, we sit down with Emily Ferris. Emily shares with us what it is like from the inside of Magellan and what they do to support individuals in recovery.