NNews-Spring-2022

4 Spring 2022 For years, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care (UBHC) has been operating a variety of peer support lines, which are led by Cherie Castellano, LPC, ProgramDirector. To enhance the effectiveness of these re- sources and help the peer staff to better address the callers’ wellness needs, Castellano col- laborated with Margaret (Peggy) Swarbrick, PhD, FAOTA, Associ- ate Director, Center for Alcohol & Substance Use Studies (CAS), Rutgers University, and Amy Sp- agnolo, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions, Rutgers School of Health Professions, to offer a training on reciprocal peer support and wellness (RPS- W) in early 2020. The program was broadened to also meet the staff ’s needs, and the success of this program inspired the idea for aWellness Training and Learning Collaborative (W-TLC), to be offered for the health- care workforce around the country to be available begin- ning in late spring 2022. The expanded program is funded by the Farris Foundation. Building on the Initial Pro- gram’s Value “The RPS-W team noted that the peer support role dramati- cally changed in those early days of the pandemic and the peer support staff themselves needed additional support to continue to do the important work they were doing,” said Dr. Swarbrick. “We modified the training and started to provide shorter virtual ses- sions, more wellness- and self- care-focused content, and virtual check-ins with the staff during their shift briefs.” Dr. Swarbrick explained that this approach emphasized many of the self- care techniques in the Self-Care for the Caregiver workbook that she developed with Mary Cath- erine Lundquist, MDiv, Program Director, Care2Caregivers, one of UBHC’s peer support lines. “The virtual sessions focused on equipping peer support workers to address callers’ needs, given the increasing demands for supports compounded by the pandemic and its negative con- sequences on mental, physical, financial, emotional, spiritual, environmental, intellectual and occupational wellness,” Dr. Swarbrick said. The areas she noted that the pandemic af- fected are the Eight Dimensions of Wellness, which she identified through her research and which the Substance Abuse andMental Health Services Administration and providers nationwide have adopted. “We also stressed the importance of checking in with all callers on their wellness and self-care during the quarantine,” Dr. Swarbrick added about the RPS-Wprogram. Because this service has been so well received and impactful, UBHC sought to expand it to all behavioral healthcare provid- ers—not only in New Jersey, but also nationwide—with a broader focus that includes organizations, as well as indi- viduals. TheW-TLC is also unique in providing all resources in a central location at no cost. “We were hearing frommany colleagues about increased stress, turnover rates, and burnout in health care and real- ized that what we had done in RPS-W could reach a broader audience. We wanted to expand the original initiative, adding in our decades-long experience on wellness and self-care train- ing, as well as what we have learned from various technical assistance collaborations on wellness with organizations,” Dr. Swarbrick said. Encouraging Self-Care to Ben- efit Providers and People they Support This is an especially meaning- ful time to launch theW-TLC as May is Mental Health Awareness Month. This national campaign focuses on educating the pub- lic about mental health and encouraging people to seek help when needed, which is an important part of self-care. In fact, self-care strengthens both physical and mental health, which enables everyone to do everything more effectively, including helping people in their personal and profes- sional lives. “Our long experience in this area suggests that the same qualities that lead people to Rutgers Initiative Helps Enhance Providers’ Wellness, Improve Retention and Quality of Services Our ultimate aim is to enhance healthcare workers’ resilience, reduce burnout, and lead to better retention and quality of services. - Amy Spagnolo, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions Rutgers School of Health Professions