By: Jean Houston, Lead Family Contact
Three very positive and compassionate professionals engaged 24 Peer Support Partners (PSPs) from Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan in an intense and focused two day training on September 20-21. Held at the Oasis Conference Center in Loveland, participants were able to enjoy a relaxing atmosphere surrounded by a scenic pond and walking path.
Neil Brown, from Columbus, Ohio, who is also a Wraparound Consultant for FAST TRAC; Patricia Miles from Portland, Oregon, who is a Wraparound Consultant and provides support for the Peer Support Credentialing program; and Marilyn Pellot-Raygoza, from Los Angeles, California, who has been providing peer support for more than 10 years, led the group through an intensive set of skill building exercises.
Participants were divided into three learning groups and moved throughout the training together. The learning groups spent time with each trainer on topics from the different learning tracks: Working with Families, Working with Professionals and Self-Care.
Peer Support Partners were actively involved in discussions throughout both days. On the second day, each group was called upon to present a skit depicting what they had learned and very different portrayals of their experiences emerged! Each team gave themselves a name and presented their team in a way that kept everyone rolling with laughter. Observing the facilitators, their facial expressions and verbal responses to the skits created an atmosphere of relaxation and knowledge that the PSPs had indeed gained much content from the boot camp!
