Parent/Family Peer Support is a peer‐to‐peer approach to working with caregivers of children struggling with emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges
Parent / Family Peer Support...
Is provided by a trained parent with lived experience.
Works individually with families and as part of a team
Offers regular supervision and access to clinical consultation
Is provided in a variety of venues
What Does a Parent Peer Supporter Do?
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Parent Peer Support Providers have roles at all levels of service intensity, from community outreach to inpatient hospitalization, infusing family voice and family support at all levels.
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Parent Peer Support Providers:
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Connect
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Support
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Navigate
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Advocate
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Train
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Engage
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Educate
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Evaluate
Scope of Activities
Education
Outreach, training, community education, advocacy, mentoring
Service Delivery
Information/referral, group facilitation, intake and assessment, individual support/advocacy, intensive in-home based therapy, HFWA/care coordination, supervision
Evaluation
Data collection, translation and dissemination, CQI/QA monitoring
Policy Making
Advisory councils, workgroups, task force, family representation at local/state/national level
(FREDLA)
What does the research say?
Parent peer support offers parents and caregivers:
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Increased sense of collaboration with trained professionals
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Increased sense of self-efficacy in their ability to care for their child
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Increased empowerment to become active participants in their child’s services
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Decreased internalized blame by helping to reframe experiences and debunking stigma around behavioral health conditions
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Decreased feelings of family isolation by identifying and accessing community and natural supports
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Recognition of the importance of self-care
Parent Peer Support Provider Training
The Mental Health and Recovery Board of Union County is the Ohio License Holder for FREDLA's the (Family Run Executive Director Leadership Association) Parent Peer Support Practice Model and Parent Peer Support Supervisor curriculums. If your organization would like to request a training or have questions about training, please submit this contact form to reach the Ohio Training Coordinator, Wren Hawkins.
This training meets the training requirement for the National certification through The National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health (NFFCMH).
FREDLA’s Parent Peer Support Practice Model Training
1. The PPS Practice Model provides a framework for the essential functions of a Parent Peer Support Provider, offering training and practicing of skills across the 6 phases of parent peer support: Connect, Discover, Support, Empower, Prepare and Take Care.
2. Each of the phases has a specific focus and accompanying skill sets:
a. Connect - Presenting self as peer and establishing role with family
b. Discover - Understanding family level of need, strengths, and goals
c. Support - Support of family across systems, including developing and implementing a support plan with tasks and building collaborative relationships
d. Empower - Empowering families and informing systems around family perspective, family voice and choice, and family-driven services
e. Prepare – Transitioning from formal support, including the development of an ongoing plan for support and acknowledging skills learned
f. Take Care -- PPS Provider self-care and maintaining role
3. Training specifics:
a. 40 hour / 5 days
b. Offered in multiple formats (in-person, virtual or hybrid)
c. Candidate must have lived experience as a primary caregiver of child/youth with mental health challenges
Parent Peer Support Provider Supervisor TraininG
Training specifics:
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3 Days / 24 hours
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Offered in multiple formats (in-person, virtual or hybrid)
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Candidate does NOT need to have lived experience as a primary caregiver of child/youth with mental health challenges
Some topics include:
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Defining what Peer support supervision is and how it is different from clinical and administrative supervision
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Role clarification between families and system partners
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Keys to effective supervision
