What if instead of therapists you met with “more experienced” and healthy schizophrenics and just hung out with them for a few hours every week and they show you the ropes to life as a schizophrenic . Kind of act like a therapist but you’re even moreso on the same level as one another. And we can all create a private practice.
My friend seems to think peer support is the future. He does it for a living, but no private practice…yet!!!
;(
Eh, I’m saving hell for after I die.
OK I edited it to say “some of us.”
I guess some of us have more “patience”
yes, its funny you mention this bc i’ve been wanting to do something like that for ages and today my Project worker showed me an nhs peer support worker program which looked right up my street,
it looks like a lot of work but very meaningful and rewarding, i feel like i have loads of experience i’d like to share and i’ve studied a bit too, it was 37.5 hours a week but it might be doable if i can build up to it and they may even offer part-time in certain instances 
Yeah I mean it could be a career for some of us, or even a side job/volunteer for others
I just think it’d be rewarding one day to hang out with schizophrenics who are 18-25 just new to being diagnosed. Even if I had a different job and did this as a volunteer, it’d be rewarding for everybody.
My friend does do it for a living. He works for the state doing peer support speciality. He took a 50 hour course I think to get certified.
I wish you luck @daydreamer I just think it’d be rewarding and helpful and structure forming and maybe financially beneficial possibly as well as it’d give me enough purpose it might crush my delusions, as well as I like meeting new people.
Now right now it’s really just a “match you up with a certified recovery support specialist” but in the future if it was a growing type of thing then maybe you could be set up with people in private practices how you feel is a good match.
idk about private practices, you got the professionals who do phd’s and stuff and then people like us who have struggled but are stable enough to try and help others when they are most vulnerable, working hand in hand would be the sensible option imo, i think it would really help to have someone who can relate be there for you when at most vulnerable, to provide insight and guidance maybe.
I’ve tried attending support functions but the majority at them find my level of function intimidating. It causes hard feelings.
I’m not sure if I mean private practices but more like your mom or care provider meets with a 50 year old schizophrenic guy or girl who’s been through a lot (you possibly when you’re 50) and you figure if you’re a good match. Like some type of database where the less experienced person seeks out the more experienced person. But yeah I know what you mean. Private practices is the wrong word. It implies that you’re on a different level w/ one another
The whole point is to be on the same level.
well the job i was looking at was actually on the ward so i’d be helping people out on the ward, it is a bit worrying but i can handle it i think.
Ugh no. I do appreciate peer support, but mental illness is absolutely not a substitute for formal education.
I mean like of course some sort of certification that only people with mental illness or some type of recovery are qualified to do.
I think some of this got cut in my state when they privitazed Medicaid here,
but I used to get it. I agree, good idea.
We already have all the educations for mental health professionals that we need, in my opinion. There’s no reason to educate peer professionals separately. Having a mental illness requires no education and provides no special abilities. They can become doctors, therapists, nurses, etc, or just work with peer support.
Also, just to put it out there, I’ve seen a peer support worker, and I benefited from those meetings, but think substituting them for professionals would be irresponsible and that creating a new profession for them would be pointless.
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