I am a clinical psychologist who has been working with Peer Support Specialists for the past 15 years.  As an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine, and a past manager of the mental health services at the Bedford VA Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts, and the Cheyenne VA in Cheyenne, Wyoming, I was only too aware of the shortcomings of our healthcare system.  Seeing the impact of adding people with lived experience of health issues and recovery from those issues, I became convinced that both peer support and Peer Support Specialists are game changers.  Based on that conviction, I helped build large innovative teams of peer specialists to help improve healthcare services for Veterans. 

 I have been involved in research and program development and have published about 100 articles and books.  While our healthcare systems are large and progressive, the typical success rates of the best mental health services are still 50-70%.  We have to do better!  Peer support and Peer Support Specialists are a key to doing better!