As soon as patient advocate Ken Meylan walks into the psychiatric ward at Zucker Hillside Hospital, patients usually approach him in the hallway. Sometimes patients want to show their work. Meylan also listened to their concerns about hospitalization, she said.
Not long ago, the New Hyde Park resident was hospitalized with depression and other symptoms after selling a health center in Farmington. Meylan, who is neither a doctor nor a nurse, hopes that by working with these patients, her recovery journey can break down barriers to recovery.
“I will tell them what I did,” he said. “And if they can get something out of it, that’s great. And if they’re not ready to hear it, I’m just a friend. I care about them.” And maybe we play cards, we play chess, we play video games, or we put music on our phones for them. Anything I can do to make your stay in
He is now part of a growing pool of pierce specialist mental health personnel who have life experience in areas such as mental health illness and substance abuse and are trained professionals who assist others in dealing with similar challenges. .
What you need to know
- Pierce specialists are people with life experience in areas such as mental health People trained to help others facing similar challenges, such as illness or substance abuse.
- T.hey can work in different places From hospitals, homeless shelters to treatment facilities, according to the Department of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services.
- Their work is paid, but they are not looking to replace psychiatrists. and provide guidance to other mental health staff to show that recovery is possible.
Professionals, also known as peer recovery coaches, can work in a variety of locations, including hospitals, homeless shelters and treatment facilities, the group said. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, An agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
indicate recoverable
Their work is paid and is intended to provide guidance and support, not to replace psychiatrists or other mental health staff. It can also be a way to discuss concerns that you might not want to discuss with your doctor.
Perhaps most of all, researchers and mental health advocates say it shows the potential for recovery.
“It’s a very unique skill set that my colleagues bring because they can connect with people in distress and develop a degree of empathy,” said Michael Dwyer, deputy executive director of outpatient services at Zucker Hillside Hospital. We have the ability to deliver,” he said. of Northwell Health.
Some studies of piercing specialists have shown benefits such as improved mental health and social functioning, while other analyzes have found modest effects. according to the scholarship.
Still, the service stuck. In New York State, the State Department of Mental Health helps support several peer credentials, adult peer support services, family peer support services, and youth peer support services. To obtain each credential, applicants must undergo training, including documented work experience and online courses.
Approximately 450 family peer advocates across the state focus on families with children experiencing social, emotional, and developmental challenges.
In 2019, the Youth Peer Advocate credential was created for people ages 18 to 30 who have had life experiences that have moved them beyond systems such as child care and juvenile justice. Youth can be trained and supported through community life skills, coaching and other services.
Meylan is a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate. He has had a long road to recovery and he has been hospitalized more than 10 times. Meylan said his addiction problems began after he sold his eponymous health center, Ken’s Fitness Center. Meylan, 56, started the facility in the 1990s, but sold the business about a decade later when a competitor moved nearby.
And with that sale, he said, “it lost its purpose.” Meylan soon developed anxiety and severe depression. He used alcohol to mask his anxiety. To compensate for his depression, he used cocaine.
He ended up in a hospital and into a Project Outreach outpatient facility in West Hempstead. He was asked to volunteer and eventually got his credentials.
Meylan, who now commute closer to work and has a new kitten, hopes her changes will help others. “We want you to go out and live a great life, manage your illness, and live a life of recovery.”
Peer service’s origins date back more than a century, but its modern version has its roots in the patient movement of the late 1960s and ’70s, when institutionalized people wanted greater rights. . said the researcher Harvey Rosenthal, CEO of the New York Association of Mental Rehabilitation Services, a state coalition of people who use or provide recovery-focused services.
“First, there was a transformative rights movement that raised the bar and claimed that people could recover, that their rights mattered, that they should have a choice, that they could live a fulfilling life. he said.
During the 80’s and 90’s, New York’s peer support programs grew to include services like peer respite houses that could be used in place of emergency rooms. And now, he said, people with certifications often get roles right away.
help children in need
Long Island Area Parent Advisor Heather Taflo works closely with the Department of Mental Health to ensure families are adequately treated for issues such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. I am supporting you. Her role typically means providing technical support and direction to Long Island’s Family Assistance Program.
Word of mouth is often the way people learn about the organization’s services, sometimes even after the child has already been hospitalized. She is committed to destigmatizing children’s behavior, advocating for them and helping them navigate the web of social services.
This experience is familiar to Farmingdale residents. In the 90s, she and her son Frankie, now 30, went through years of scrambles with specialists and other doctors to get an autism diagnosis in the 2000s.
Taflo, who is also the mother of an adult daughter, said she wished she had a fellow family advocate to point her in the right direction and ease her guilt.
Heather Taflo, who has a 30-year-old son with special needs, works for the State Department of Mental Health and helps other parents access mental health systems. She is shown in her West Brentwood office.Credit: Howard Schnapp
“I… wouldn’t have had to struggle to find anything, or look for it, or wonder, ‘Is this right?'” Do I know what I’m doing ? is this my fault? what did i do wrong? Why is this not working? said Taflo, 63.
Her son now works at a home improvement store and has an associate’s degree from Nassau Community College. Her experience guides the work of her team in working with parents who feel behind caring for their children or afraid to speak up.
“Just because I’m scared doesn’t necessarily mean I want to tell the psychologist at school all of my problems,” she said, adding that it might be easier to tell “another parent sitting with me and having coffee.” pointed out no.
