Co-support group facilitators Lynelle Saunders and Luann Simpson experienced first-hand the power of peer support. After many years working with and supporting people with mental illness their passion for making peer support services available to everyone led them to open Compassionate Peer Support and Training, LLC.
Compassionate Peer Support and Training (CPSAT) is dedicated to the principles, values, and promotion of peer support. With a dynamic team of trained peer supporters, they provide direct support to individuals living with mental illness, emotional distress, substance use disorder, and/or trauma from the lived experience perspective. Further, CPSAT aims to advance the success and profession of peer support. CPSAT also provides supervision, support, consultation, and training to individuals and agencies.
A Certified Advanced Practice Social Worker and certified peer specialist, Simpson is a state trainer of NAMI signature programs, WI Peer Specialist training, and QPR. She is also a speaker and presenter. Simpson uses her expertise to provide training on topics including mental illness, substance use disorders, and self-care. The customized training is designed to meet your specific needs is also available.
Saunders and Simpson – mutual Certified Peer Specialists – set up and executed Peer Support pilot programs in Racine. A review of the data indicated elements that helped in recovery and those that didn’t. Further, this experience in the startup and administration of Peer Support programs, combined with their personal lived experience and training, makes them uniquely qualified to provide the service of peer support and employ and manage a team of peer supporters.
Experienced-based approach to recovery
Many people suffer in silence, not knowing how to ask for help or even knowing if they are “sick enough to need it” or “worth it.” When you need more than a friend, turning to someone who’s been there can be empowering. A Peer Supporter can walk you out of the challenges you’re wading through today, help you stabilize your emotions, find hope for the present and future, and find your voice.
Compassionate Peer Support and Training embraces SAMHSA’s definition of recovery: “Recovery is a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential.”
Their own lived experience with bipolar disorder has given them a different approach to recovery. They believe recovery is not about going back to reclaim who you once were or think you should be. Recovery is discovering who you are and forging a new path towards who you are actually meant to be. Recovery is not necessarily free from symptoms but one in which those symptoms neither define nor limit you. Therefore, it’s more about the recovery of your life than recovery from an illness.
Compassionate Peer Support and Training’s dymanic team
In addition to Saunders and Simpson, CPSAT has a dynamic team of trained peer supporters with varied experience. This includes a parent peer specialist and two peers who want to work with the Latina community.
Peer Supporters inspire hope through a compassionate lens. They also walk beside you on your journey of recovery, support you in identifying your goals, dreams, and potential. Further, they provide education around wellness, personal development, and crisis planning.
Parent Peer Supporters use their own lived experience as a tool to help families of children and youth experiencing mental health and/or substance use challenges. They support families in recognizing and fostering their resiliency, provide information about resources, and also assist families in navigating times of crisis.
Through their efforts, Saunders and Simpson hope to create a compassionate community.
Available for in-person and virtual appointments, serving all of Racine county. Further, there are no requirements for diagnosis or referral for services and insurance records or documentation. All you need is a desire to feel better. Also, the journey to recovery has many pathways.
Compassionate Peer Support and Training can help you find your path.
Visit www.compassionatepeers.com for more info, schedule an appointment, or learn about our training and consultation services. The peer support session is $40. A life coach session is $50. Lastly, personal wellness planning is $60.
Not sure which service is right for you? Schedule a free 30-minute consultation.
