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On the future of mental health | Psychology Today

The following interview is part of a “future of mental health” interview series that will be running for 100+ days. This series presents different points of view about what helps a person in distress. I’ve aimed to be ecumenical and included many points of view different from my own. I hope you enjoy it. As with every service and resource in the mental health field, please do your due diligence. If you’d like to learn more about these philosophies, services, and organizations mentioned, follow the links provided.

Recovery in the USA: From politics to peer support

The recovery movement has evolved from a more radical view in the early days, to participatory involvement in systems, to returning to alternative models of care that are more independent. Now as more peer specialists work in systems, there is an increased emphasis on non-medical alternatives and the cycle continues. Regardless, recovery, self-determination, choice, etc. are always at the centre. This paper notes the interesting cycles of recovery-orientation and how they spin around the values/tenets of the movement’s early roots.

Journal ArticleLaysha OstrowJuly 16, 2021commentary, peer support, federal policy

Live and Learn: An Interview with Laysha Ostrow

Mad In America’s Peter Simons interviews Laysha Ostrow about her mental health research and consulting company, the inclusion of peer specialists in mental health care, and her personal experience with the mental health system.

Peer Respites: A Research and Practice Agenda

Peer respites are voluntary, short-term residential programs designed to support individuals experiencing or at risk of a psychiatric crisis. These programs posit that for many mental health services users, traditional psychiatric emergency department and inpatient hospital services are undesirable and avoidable when less coercive or intrusive community-based supports are available. Intended to provide a safe and homelike environment, peer respites are usually situated in residential neighborhoods. These programs are starting to spread across the United States, yet there is very little rigorous research on whether they are being implemented consistently across sites and which processes and outcomes may lead to benefits for persons experiencing psychiatric crises and for overburdened mental health systems. This Open Forum outlines implementation and research issues that peer respites face.

Journal ArticleLaysha OstrowJuly 13, 2021peer respite, peer support, commentary

Self-Employment for People with Psychiatric Disabilities: Advantages and Strategies

Advantages of self-employment for people with psychiatric disabilities, who may have disrupted educational and employment histories, include opportunities for self-care, additional earning, and career choice. Self-employment fits within a recovery paradigm because of the value placed on individual preferences, and the role of resilience and perseverance in business ownership. This commentary elucidates the positive aspects of self-employment in the context of employment challenges experienced by individuals with psychiatric disabilities and provides recommendations based on larger trends in entrepreneurship.

Journal ArticleLaysha OstrowJuly 13, 2021commentary, self-employment/entrepreneurship

San Luis Obispo | California

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