From Trauma to Thriving: PJ Jackson on Healing & Recovery
PEER Voices Podcast
What if healing from trauma isn’t about reliving the pain, but about taking back your power and rewriting your story? In this episode, Pristina “PJ” Jackson reveals how she turned childhood trauma and complex PTSD into a life of purpose as a bold advocate for mental health and addiction recovery. PJ opens up about the years she spent cycling through hospitals, therapy, and even electroshock treatments, only to realize that the traditional narrative of healing left her stuck in an identity of trauma. She explains how shifting her perspective—seeing anxiety and survival instincts as her...
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How Advocacy Strengthens Recovery with Cheri Walter
PEER Voices Podcast
Peer support saves lives, reduces relapse, and strengthens recovery — yet too often, it’s undervalued and underfunded. In this episode, hosts Juliet Dorris-Williams and Gabe Howard sit down with longtime recovery advocate Cheri Walter to explore why peer services matter and how advocacy can amplify their impact. Cheri, a person in long-term recovery and board member of The P.E.E.R. Center, brings 40 years of experience in Ohio’s mental health and addiction systems. She explains why peers are not a replacement for clinical care — but rather an essential complement that helps people...
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Wearing Many Hats: The Multi-Role Life of a Peer Supporter
PEER Voices Podcast
In peer support, your title might say “peer supporter / specialist,” but your life experience, education, and skills often add up to much more. Many peers wear multiple hats—combining lived experience with roles like social worker, counselor, advocate, educator, or even executive director. In this episode, we explore what it means to bring all those roles into the room. Our hosts, Juliet and Gabe, share how their professional training and lived experience overlap, the benefits (and occasional tensions) of wearing more than one hat, and how to stay authentic to the peer role while...
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Walking the Same Road: Why Self-Care May Look Different for Peers vs Clinicians
PEER Voices Podcast
Whether you’re a certified peer supporter or a licensed clinician, the work of supporting others can be deeply meaningful—but also deeply draining. Both roles carry heavy emotional weight, and both require real commitment. Yet, the way we talk about and practice self-care often looks very different between the two. In this episode, guest Jennifer Martinez joins hosts Juliet and Gabe to explore the unspoken expectations that peers should “prove” they’re strong enough, how stigma can shape the conversation around rest and boundaries, and why licensed professionals may have more...
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From Darkness to Determination: Stephanie Mitchell Hughes on Surviving Depression and Finding Strength
PEER Voices Podcast
In this powerful episode of PEERVoices, Gabe Howard and Juliet Dorris-Williams sit down with Stephanie Mitchell Hughes, Assistant Director at NAMI Franklin County, to explore her deeply personal journey through major depressive disorder and the challenges of solo parenting. Stephanie opens up about her early struggles with depression, the turning point that led her to seek help, and the ongoing battle to manage her mental health while raising her children. Through candid conversation, she shares the determination it took to push through the darkest times, the importance of finding the right...
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Learn About Power-Neutral Approaches to Mental Health Recovery
PEER Voices Podcast
Join Juliet Dorris-Williams and Gabe Howard on PEERVoices as they sit down with Teresa Conley, the longtime manager of Pathway Clubhouse in Columbus, Ohio. Teresa shares her 33 years of experience in the mental health field and reflects on the deep-rooted partnership between Pathway Clubhouse and the PEER Center. Discover how these organizations emphasize a power-neutral approach by treating members as colleagues, fostering an inclusive and empowering environment for mental health recovery. Listen in as they explore the evolution of these spaces, the importance of shared leadership, and the...
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What Is a Peer Respite? With Michelle Beyer from ASCEND
PEER Voices Podcast
In this episode of PEERVoices, hosts Juliet Dorris-Williams and Gabe Howard sit down with Michelle Beyer, executive director of ASCEND and a passionate advocate for peer support. Michelle shares insights about ASCEND’s unique peer respite program, the only one of its kind for adults in Ohio. She explains how this non-clinical, home-like environment offers an alternative to crisis centers, providing a comforting space for individuals to recharge and receive support from peers who truly understand their experiences. Tune in to hear about the challenges and rewards of running such a vital...
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Empowering Through Peer Support with eCPR's Kimberly Ewing
PEER Voices Podcast
In this insightful episode, our hosts speak with Kimberly Ewing, the lead trainer for eCPR, about the transformative power of peer support. Moving beyond the common perception of peer support as just another tool, they emphasize its profound personal impact. Peer support is more than just “peers talking to peers”; it has far-reaching goals and uses. Kimberly shares her journey and the importance of self-care in supporting others, introducing the concept of 'putting your own oxygen mask on first.' The discussion delves into the essence of showing up authentically, seeing each other,...
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Peer Advocacy: Finding Our Voice and Overcoming Stigma
PEER Voices Podcast
Join our hosts for an in-depth conversation about the power and challenges of peer advocacy in mental health and addiction recovery. Featuring guest Cheri L. Walter from OACBHA, this episode explores the necessity for peers to be loud, out, and proud. Hosts Juliet and Gabe share insights on overcoming stigma and navigating the barriers peers face in gaining a seat at the table. Discover the importance of persistent advocacy, the value of lived experiences, and the strategies for making peer voices heard. Whether you’re a peer, ally, or professional, this episode provides valuable...
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Bridging the Gap: Integrating Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Recovery
PEER Voices Podcast
In this episode, our hosts sit down with the CEO of the Summit Recovery Hub, China Darrington, to explore the often-contentious divide between mental health and substance use disorder recovery. China shares her personal story with mental health issues and addiction while advocating for an integrated approach for peer recovery supporters. China also emphasizes the importance of understanding the "why" behind substance use. Together, they discuss the complexities of peer support, the challenges of navigating dual diagnoses, and the critical need for inclusive, trauma-informed care. This...
info_outlineThere are plenty of podcasts about mental health and psychology, but one point of view is usually missing – that of a peer. Peers are those of us who have a lived experience with mental illness, addiction, and trauma, and there is finally a podcast made by peers for peers.
There are lots of clinicians and family members talking about what peers need to do (or what needs to be done to or for us). However, those who actually live in recovery are rarely invited to join the conversation.
Our hosts, Juliet C. Dorris-Williams and Gabe Howard, talk about why this lack of representation is dangerous, consider possible reasons for it, and give advice on how we can combat it. Do you want to be part of the conversation rather than just the subject? Then listen in as Juliet and Gabe give practical, real-world steps you can take to have your voice, your peer voice, heard.
Highlights of PEER Voices Episode One
1:35 – “people talk around us or for us” (peer perspectives are not included or appreciated)
3:22 - “[peers] aren’t in the front of [clinicians] minds” (usually peers are not deliberately excluded, we are just an afterthought)
8:45 – “invite yourself” (we must make opportunities for ourselves)
12:22 – “we are not at the table unless we go to the table” (we must go the extra mile to be heard)
14:38 – “three words: I respectfully disagree” (being agreeable is important for advocacy, being belligerent is not often useful)
16:30 – “[what is] the biggest goal of the peer movement and this podcast”