Building and Retaining an Effective CSC Peer Workforce: The Vision, the Reality, and the Solution-View Presentation

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Video Summary

The Third National Conference on Advancing Early Psychosis Care in the U.S., presented by SMI Advisor, featured a session on building and retaining an effective Coordinated Specialty Care (CSE) peer workforce. The focus was on understanding the peer role in mental health care, overcoming integration challenges, and improving cultural responsiveness within mental health teams. Speakers included Dr. Vanessa Kladnik, Abby Duke, and Nabelle Caruso, who discussed the role of peers as essential members of CSE teams, exploring barriers like stigma, low pay, and role confusion that they often face.<br /><br />The presentation highlighted the importance of valuing peer roles equally within multidisciplinary teams and advocated for systemic changes to better support these roles with equitable pay, benefits, and career development opportunities. Emphasizing the influence of the peer perspective, the session called for dismantling traditional norms and embracing more inclusive, culturally sensitive engagement approaches.<br /><br />Participants were urged to self-reflect, challenge existing biases, advocate for anti-racist and anti-ableist practices, and actively engage in reshaping the understanding of professionalism to include peer support principles. Lastly, the necessity for organizational investment in training, resources, and policy reforms to foster an environment that authentically integrates and supports the peer workforce was stressed, along with leveraging innovative funding strategies to ensure sustainability of these vital roles.

Keywords

Early Psychosis Care

Coordinated Specialty Care

Peer Workforce

Mental Health

Cultural Responsiveness

Stigma

Systemic Changes

Inclusive Engagement

Anti-racist Practices

Sustainability