Introduction

The Pain Education Toolkit provides pain management education for people receiving services on how they can improve their health and better manage their pain. These very helpful tools can be used in peer support. These videos demonstrate how a peer support specialist can introduce the Pain Education Toolkit resources. The more we understand pain, the more we can change it — for the better!

Peer Support and Sleep

Peer support specialists can play an important role in supporting people living with pain across the Pain Education Toolkit’s eight topics. Since most people with pain have problems sleeping, sleep is a great place to start. This video demonstrates how to introduce and select an appropriate topic from the Pain Education Toolkit handouts and videos. In this scenario, a peer support specialist has been working with a peer who has goals to reducing their pain but is unsure of how to start. Notice how the peer support specialist facilitates the discussion about sleep goals, using her personal experience.

Resources

Peer Support and Medications

Many peers have questions and concerns about medications. This can be a stressful conversation for peer support specialists. In this scenario, a peer support specialist has been working with a peer who comes to their meeting concerned that a taper means that her doctor will be cutting her off from opioids. The peer support specialist shares information, resources, lived experience, and hope – all in a nonjudgmental, compassionate manner and in keeping with the peer support role.

Resources

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