ED2Recovery+ Peer Conference 2024

Conference Presentations

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Know Your Limits: Protecting Your Boundaries When Working Across Multiple Systems.

This presentation will discuss the boundaries and ethics of working with clients and systems that have not yet learned the scope of practice of a Peer Specialist.

Professionally trained and supervised Peer Specialists have been a growing source of support in Wisconsin over the last 10 years with many organizations integrating Peer Specialists into systems of care. Peer Specialists often interact with many different systems as they help clients in the gaps between systems.

However, employers and these varied systems may not be familiar with what a Peer Specialist is. This sometimes results in Peer Specialists being relied on for client concerns that may not be in their scope of practice to address.

At the same time, boundaries with clients are often gray as Peer Specialists use their personal experiences to provide support.

Grief is a Backpack: carrying what can’t be fixed

Presenter: Lisa Marie Auter

Megan Devine, author of “It’s Ok That You’re Not Ok,” writes: “When you try to take someone’s pain away from them, you don’t make it better. You just tell them it’s not OK to talk about their pain.”

In this presentation, we will discuss a non-prescriptive, strengths-based, and more inclusive approach to understanding grief so that we can offer spaces to explore grief instead of reacting in ways that silence it. We will examine how the principles of peer support and recovery align with the idea of grief as a human experience rather than something to be fixed, diagnosed, or changed.

Participants will leave with a more compassionate and forgiving way of looking at grief in their own lives as well as how to better support others in their grief experiences. We who are brokenhearted are not broken and we can choose how we carry these experiences throughout our lives.

Harm Reduction and the Struggles for Liberation: How BIPOC & LGBTQ+ Communities Created Harm Redux for Community Centered Survival

Presenter: Tarah Stangler

In this presentation, we will build a shared understanding of harm reduction– what it is, how we can embrace it with our peers, and in our own lives. With this shared language, we will explore how different liberation movements have shaped current harm reduction practices, and how community-centered approaches to harm reduction can be a lifeline for marginalized folks. Together, we will find ways that we can continue to honor the legacies of those before us by continuing their work today!

Mindfulness: a Tool for Recovery

Presenter: Michael Waupoose

This interactive session will consider the role that mindfulness can play in our own well-being and how it can be a support for recovery. We will experientially explore meditation practices, discuss the benefits and challenges of meditation and mindfulness, and consider some ways to bring mindfulness into the work of supporting people in recovery.

Motivational Interviewing for Recovery Coaches

Presenter: Amy Parins

This session will provide an introductory overview of MI. Motivational Interviewing is an approach to supporting people to make behavior changes where they may be very ambivalent about the way forward. It helps you learn how to evoke your clients’ own reasons and motivation for change. MI aims to empower the client to leverage their inner strengths and resources to heal and grow. During this session we will focus on the core skills of MI:

Define MI and understand its usefulness
Describe the four elements of MI spirit
Practice OARS skills (open ended questions, affirmations, reflections and summaries)
Outline the four processes of MI

Advocating with Allies – the Good Samaritan Coalition

Presenter: Annette Czarnecki, Marybeth Studelska, Ritu Bhatnagar, Bev Kelley-Miller

This panel presentation will use the Wisconsin Good Samaritan Coalition as an example of working with allies to advocate for policy changes. The session will include breaks for questions, brainstorming, and collaboration.

This session will address:

Reasons for working with allies and pitfalls when you don’t
What make a good issue for advocacy
Finding and nurturing allies
Maintaining group cohesion
Formulating realistic actions
Updating progress toward a strong

Organizing and Professionalism in Peer Support Roles: Balancing Compassion and Boundaries

Presenter: Michelle Haumschild

Join us for an interactive session that will focus on the importance of staying organized in your peer support role, from managing caseloads to effective communication and data collection. We will explore strategies for maintaining a workflow that prioritizes the needs of your peers while also ensuring that you are collecting essential information and fostering meaningful connections.

Participants will have the opportunity to discuss common challenges in peer support roles and share best practices for staying organized and professional. We will also explore the delicate balance of remaining professional in a helping role, without sacrificing the compassionate connection that is essential for effective peer support.

Participants will gain valuable insights and tools for enhancing their organizational skills, communication methods, and professional boundaries in their peer support practice. Join us to learn how to navigate the complexities of peer support roles with confidence and compassion.