NASW Practice Snapshot:
Consumer-Providers In The Workplace

Office of Social Work Specialty Practice

Two previous “Snapshot” articles raised questions and topics for discussion about the increasing number of consumers joining the ranks of employees in the mental health field.  As we contemplate questions about confidential information and boundary issues, we need to also look at the potential benefits of consumers obtaining proper training and joining the workplace as providers.   The two previous “Snapshots” are accessible for reference at:
http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/behavioral_health/0505snapshot.asp
http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/behavioral_health/0405snapshot.asp

KNOWLEDGE:

Consumers can bring to the workplace a wealth of knowledge about how clients perceive our actions.  Co-workers are in a better position than consumers to give us feedback about how what we say and do might be received and interpreted.  Consumers may feel uncomfortable telling us how they interpret our words, particularly if the words are unintentionally hurtful, yet those interpretations are important to understand.  A provider may not recognize specific cultural or linguistic interpretations associated with a statement or phrase that they use.  Or a provider may not recognize how an innocent action, like lighting a fire in a barbeque grill, could create flashbacks of trauma for an individual.  Consumers who have become providers are in a unique position to give feedback from the consumer’s perspective, while associating with co-workers as peers. 

NEW ENERGY AND ENTHUSIASM:

Consumer-providers are, like many social workers, often full of ideals and enthusiasm, which can potentially be invigorating for an agency and existing workers.  Employees’ initial excitement for their work often dwindles over a period of years though.  Having newly trained consumers join us as providers in the field can help remind us why we entered the social work field in the first place, by extolling to us the success that people can achieve in their lives with the assistance of social workers.  Such individuals will present the unique experiences of having been in the place of needing the help of social workers, taking that help, going into an educational program, and then giving back in the same profession that helped them.  Any new employee who has just completed an educational program is likely to benefit from continued direction and grounding, but they can also provide new sparks of enthusiasm, and help boost the energy of an organization’s staff.  Social workers can choose how to handle this new energy, but one of the options available is to use it to create new excitement within an organization.

LEARNING:

Perhaps most important, having trained consumer-providers in our organizations can provide us with opportunities to learn.  Consumers invariably will bring new and different perspectives to the table about which we may not have previously—or at least recently—given any thought, such as how user-friendly and/or modernized older policies or forms may be.  New consumer-providers may also stimulate us to view issues from different perspectives than our own—i.e. that of someone for whom experiencing stigma has become a normal part of their life.  Certainly, there may be added challenges when introducing consumers into an organization as co-workers, but this is the case with nearly any new employee.

Difficult changes often come with great positive potential if one can get past the initial hesitations.  The mental health service delivery system will continue to change, as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration continues to work towards a transformation of the mental health system (SAMHSA, 2005; NASW, 2005).  For the well-being of service recipients, however, it is critical that anyone who provides services receives proper training and certification and, with proper supervision, performs only those tasks for which they have been trained.  Programs are increasingly developing across the country to train and certify consumers to perform certain roles as providers, in some cases given the title Mental Health Peer Support Specialists.  Some programs are localized in counties, and others are developing at the state level.  When properly implemented with training and supervision, having consumers in roles as providers has the potential to benefit both consumers and providers in the field.

REFERENCES:

 

National Association of Social Workers, Office of Social Work Specialty Practice, (2005). Social work snapshot:  the transformation of the mental health system. Retrieved from:  http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/behavioral_health/1005snapshot.asp

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2005). Transforming mental health care in America.  Federal action agenda:  First steps (DHHS Publication No. SMA-05-4060). Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

NASW, January 2006