Mutuality and shared power as an alternative to coercion and force

Shery Mead is the Past Director of three New Hampshire Peer Support Programs including the first peer run crisis alternative. She has done extensive speaking and training, nationally and internationally, on the topics of Alternative Approaches to Crisis, Trauma-Informed Peer Services, Systems Change, and the Development and Implementation of Peer Operated Services. Shery’s Intentional Peer Support has now been adopted by several states as “best practice.” This trauma-informed approach sees connections and relationship as the core of healing and growth. Her publications include academic articles and training manuals. Shery’s current interests include: developing a theory and practice base for peer operated programs, de-pathologizing the effects of trauma and abuse, and finding research and evaluation models that accurately reflect the work of peer programs.

Beth FIlson is a Writer, Educator, and Self-Taught Artist. She is originally from Georgia where she began work as the first Project Manager for the state’s new peer certification program. Since then she has been involved with the development of internationally renowned curriculum in Intentional Peer Support, and peer support alternatives to the psychiatric system. Her experience with multiple hospitalizations early on informs her work integrating trauma understanding, and trauma-informed approaches in relationships and practices. Beth Co-authored the manual, Engaging Women in Trauma-Informed Peer Support for the National Center for Trauma-Informed Care and Alternatives to Seclusion and Restraint. She is an Award-Winning Poet and Artist. Beth makes her home in Western Massachusetts.