Best Practices for Mental Health Treatment Teams From the Perspective of Certified Peer Support Specialists (CPSS): Results of a CPSS Roundtable

This work was supported by funding from Sumitomo Pharma America (formerly Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc) Introduction: CPSSs are people with lived experience in navigating complex mental health systems and whose unique perspective helps guide peers on their journey to wellness. Inclusion of CPSSs within care teams is associated with reduced hospitalization, increased treatment engagement, and a focus on patient desired outcomes. To learn more about treatment team best practices, a CPSS Ambassador program was initiated. Methods: Seven CPSSs agreed to be part of our ambassador program convening at 6 monthly virtual meetings and a live roundtable meeting. The objectives of the program were to: 1) understand unmet needs in people with lived experience and identify impediments to effective treatment, 2) learn best practices for discussing medication use, and 3) highlight the importance of CPSSs in treatment. Results: This CPSS ambassador program emphasized the need for shared decision making and partnership to forge positive treatment alliances. Bias and stigma among health care practitioners were identified as an obstacle to effective treatment. Specifically, clinicians’ language can ostracize patients and negatively impact treatment. Medications should be discussed as one pillar of a larger treatment plan and not a “fix” for symptoms. CPSSs make a significant contribution to person-focused outcomes and are essential to the treatment team. Conclusions: CPSS’s are liaisons that facilitate the intersection between the treatment team and people utilizing mental health systems. CPSS’s are critical to successful navigation of the mental health care system and reaching desired outcomes. Best practices for treatment teams are about effective, person-based and stigma free partnerships for patient focused outcomes.