Personal narrative as a teaching tool.

Abstract

Recovery-oriented service systems explicitly value including people with lived experiences of a mental and substance use diagnosis in the design, delivery, and evaluation of those services. Including first-person accounts as part of the education and training of service providers "demonstrates" recovery is possible, promotes empathy, offers insights into the lives of service users, and models a person-centered, person-first approach. More important, it serves as a visual and experiential example of the collegial relationships required for services that are truly recovery-oriented. This column provides recommendations for carefully planning in-person personal narratives as an effective teaching tool.

Prejudice and discrimination from mental health service providers.

“…Instructors and guest speakers with lived experience (Legere, Nemec, & Swarbrick, 2013; Young et al, 2005) can share what was helpful and not helpful to them in their own recovery. First-person narratives (written and video) that are inspiring true stories of recovery convey a more optimistic and humanized message than fictionalized, outdated, or sensationalized stories highlighting pathology.…”

“…However, it is important to recognize that, although these workers have the potential to promote change, they also may be exposed to prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behavior from their new colleagues. For example, in a survey of certified peer specialists (Legere & Nemec, 2013), several reported harsh treatment on the job. One particularly poignant comment was, “I didn’t expect the level of hostility I encountered the day I arrived and I didn’t know how to deal, at that time, with outright bullying and individuals who resented my presence and tried (unsuccessfully) to set the people I was there to work with, against me—through total lies and bigotry.” Although an extreme example, perhaps, similar comments in the published literature demonstrate that this problem is not limited to these survey respondents (Carlson, Rapp, & McDiarmid, 2001; Chinman et al, 2008; Repper & Carter, 2011).…”

Recovery-supportive interventions for people with substance use disorders: a scoping review

“…Research indicates that, as compared to other services, recoverysupportive interventions and strategies (from hereon recoverysupportive interventions) explicitly value the inclusion of experts by experience, prioritize independence, self-determination, empowerment, and regard for service users to yield improved outcomes (e.g. substance use, supportive relationships, social functioning, and well-being) (5)(6)(7). A recovery orientation suggests the central involvement of people in recovery, the community, and service and support providers (8) while recovery-supportive interventions encompass a broad range of actions that directly or sequentially facilitate change through various mechanisms (9).…”

Securing Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI): Overcoming Challenges

“…The described process in this report can reduce the average timeline of the SSDI application of 2 years to 2 months by engaging all persons involved in the process with an emphasis establishing personal relationships (Foote A et al, 2018). Personal narratives promote empathy and compassion, offer insights into the lives of service users, and provide a visual and experiential example of the relationships in both educational and healthcare settings (Legere L et al, 2013;Langer and Ribarich, 2009). By highlighting the personal experience of a case-study's successful timely receipt of disability benefits, this report aims to provide claimants and their caregivers with the steps they can take to address the flawed accessibility and accountability system of the SSDI process in the state of Maryland.…”