Tierra D. never thought she’d be in the position to be able to help others. She spent 11 years as an active drug user, often living on the streets or out of her car. But after inpatient treatment and a lot of work, she now spends her days helping to support others who also struggle with co-occurring mental illness and substance use.
Peer support training
Tierra was part of the first class of Peer Support Training offered at Alaska Behavioral Health. She was anxious about it: she had to take a week of unpaid leave from her job, and she wasn’t sure what to expect. But she loved it, from sharing stories with her peers to the in-depth class curriculum binder. It was the first time she learned what it looks like to be in recovery in mental health: that it could mean being on medication and stable, having goals and a positive life – while still living with symptoms of mental illness. She still uses skills she learned in the class every day.
Peer support specialist
Following the class, she was hired as a peer support specialist for Alaska Behavioral Health.
Relatability is key to the role. She relates to clients who are not wanting to take their medication, because she doesn’t always like it either. As a peer support specialist, she often felt like her role was to help with communication between the client and the treatment team – to make sure clients were heard and felt heard.
Becoming a case manager
Now, Tierra works as a substance use disorder case manager for the ACT (Assertive Community Treatment) Team. The ACT team is a multi-disciplinary team that keeps in close contact with clients, seeing them almost daily in the community where they live, prompting for medications, and helping with housing. She still brings her peer support perspective.
“Coming out of a life of substance use with a mental health diagnosis is taxing. I try to just level with clients about that. And sometimes just sit in silence with them on that.”
Tierra wants all of her clients to succeed, and sometimes she has to remind herself to take a step back and give them space to be on their own recovery journey. But she doesn’t stop being their cheerleader: as she likes to tell them, “Baby steps are still steps”.
Alaska Behavioral Health is pleased to offer on-line ARC Training What is ARC? The Attachment, Self-Regulation and Competency or ARC framework (Kinniburgh & Blaustein, 2005) is a flexible, components-based intervention developed for children and adolescents (3-18) who have experienced complex trauma, along with their caregiving systems. ARC is designed as both an individual level clinical intervention, to be used in treatment settings for […]
Our two largest clinics are switching buildings! Our Anchorage Child and Family Clinic is moving to 4020 Folker Street. Appointments with our Child & Family team that were previously scheduled at 4045 Lake Otis Parkway will be held at 4020 Folker Street beginning October 2. This move brings all of our Child & Family Services […]
Mental Health First Aid is a course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem […]
Trauma 101 training focuses on understanding how trauma impacts the body and the brain, how people adapt to trauma, and what we can do as providers, caregivers and community members to support recovery and resiliency. The Trauma 101 training is not a training on a specific type of intervention, but is focused on how we […]
Block ParTAY: August 18, 2023 Celebrating community and youth engagement programs! Hosted by Alaska Seeds of Change and the POWER Center Thank you to everyone who joined us for our second annual Block ParTAY on August 18th! We enjoyed sunshine, music by Witty Youngman, games, and food from House of Birria, Holly Dogs, and Beans […]
Our Fairbanks Clinic is pleased to announce a new group for parents and caregivers. “Fireproof Parenting: Extinguishing One Crisis at a Time” Tuesdays @ 5:00 – 6:30 pm AKBH Adult Clinic at 1423 Peger Road 12 weeks long Participants must be current AKBH clients or complete an intake to participate in the group. Unfortunately, we […]
Alaska Behavioral Health is pleased to offer Arc Training What is ARC? The Attachment, Self-Regulation and Competency or ARC framework (Kinniburgh & Blaustein, 2005) is a flexible, components-based intervention developed for children and adolescents (3-18) who have experienced complex trauma, along with their caregiving systems. ARC is designed as both an individual level clinical intervention, to be used in treatment settings for youth […]
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