Recovery, Resilience, Wellness & Peer Support

The values of recovery and resiliency guide us as we work with providers. Together we want to deliver quality care to each member.

Your wellness and recovery

Part of living well involves good lifestyle habits. These include:

  • Eating the right foods
  • Getting regular exercise
  • Getting a good night’s rest
  • Having good hygiene

Coping with day-to-day challenges in life includes:

  • Building your skills to bounce back even when you are feeling stress.
  • Having healthy relationships.

Below are a few questions and answers to help you understand the ideas of:

  • Recovery
  • Resiliency
  • Wellness
  • Peer support

What is recovery?

Recovery means getting better. Your recovery may not be like someone else’s. There are many roads to recovery. Each person has his or her own path. Some things apply to everyone:

  • Positive changes are possible.
  • Recovery builds on your strengths and coping skills.
  • Coping skills improve during recovery.

Recovery includes having choices about your services and supports. This helps you gain control over your life. Your recovery plan is something you develop for yourself. Your provider, a peer, a friend, or a family member can help you develop it.  Your services should include goals built on your needs, preferences, and experiences. Another important part of recovery is respect for your rights. You should not be treated unfairly (see the member rights and responsibilities section on this website). Recovery involves accepting and believing in you. Take responsibility for your own recovery. Get help from others who are living well with their own mental health challenges.

Having hope is important for recovery. You need to believe your life can get better. And you will have a better future. Hope comes from you. Your family, friends, and providers can give you a sense of hope too.

What is resiliency?

Resiliency is the ability to bounce back and adapt when you experience challenges. Building resiliency includes learning new skills. This helps you feel more confident. It gives you a sense of hope. Resiliency means you are able to grow. You learn new ways to face challenges. This helps you move into the future.

How can I be more resilient?

People have different roads to recovery. They have many ways to learn to bounce back. Be aware when you have bad feelings about yourself or your situation. Then you can figure out what steps you can take to manage those feelings. You must have hope in your life from yourself and from others. Meaning and purpose in life are important for everyone. Find ways to do healthy and enjoyable things. This may mean working or volunteering. Or learning new things. Or doing something creative. Or it may mean helping others get better. Some people discover that helping others helps them. Spirituality also helps people become more resilient.

What does it mean to be well?

Our health includes mental and physical health. It also includes other areas of our lives, such as:

  • Having your own money to do things you like
  • Being able to do creative things like paint, play music, and work in a garden
  • Having healthy relationships
  • Having choices

Wellness also includes helping others. Helping other people on the road to recovery and wellness helps you. This is called the “helper’s principle.” We get better by supporting others to get better.

What is peer support?

Peer support is when people who have experiences like yours help you. They share their experiences of living with behavioral health and/or substance use challenges. Peer support comes from people who want to help you recover and be well. This can mean helping you build a circle of support you can count on. Getting peer support helps people living with behavioral health issues and physical health problems. It helps them live better, healthier lives in the community.

How can I get peer support?

Peer support may be provided through:

  • Your mental health provider
  • A peer-run organization
  • A self-help group
  • A family/parent-run organization

A self-help group is made up of other people living with issues like yours. One example of a self-help group is Alcoholics Anonymous. In groups such as this, you can join others in learning how to create healthy lifestyle choices. These choices will be based on your own goals and hopes. There are many self-help groups offered by peer and family-run organizations in Pennsylvania.

Peer-run organizations are more formal. They may have a variety of services and supports offered in a safe, drug and alcohol-free community setting. This includes self-help groups. They are run by people living with mental health and/or substance use disorder challenges themselves. These people are moving along in their own recovery and want to help others. Some peer-run organizations have programs to help you:

  • Find a job or get an education
  • Find a safe place to live
  • Create your own recovery and wellness plan

Some organizations operate a “warm line.” This is a telephone number you can call to talk with a peer supporter when you feel alone. You can also call if you just need to talk with someone who knows what it means to live with mental health issues.

Family/parent-run organizations also are more formal. They include many services and supports. They are run by people who have a family member who lives with mental health related issues. These groups are similar to peer-run organizations. They are run by family members who can help by sharing their own experiences.

Your mental health provider may offer peer support services. The peers who provide this support are trained to be peer specialists. They have special skills, information, and ways to help you. If you would like more information on getting peer support through your benefits, please contact the Recovery Support Navigation Team at Magellan:

Bucks County: Contact Jenna Woodward at woodwardj@magellanhealth.com

Cambria County: Contact Natalie Moldofsky at moldofskyn@magellanhealth.com

Lehigh and Northampton Counties: Contact Janet Verga at vergaj@magellanhealth.com

Montgomery County: Contact Stacey Volz at volzs@magellanhealth.com