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Our Administrative Management Services (AMS) in Allegheny County, specifically targeting Behavioral Health Workers with Lived-Experience (BHWL) such as:
Certified Peer Support Specialists (CPS), Certified Recovery Specialists (CRS), Community Health Workers (CCHW), Case Managers (CM), and Service Coordinators (SC) who hold commercial insurance and are consequently excluded from behavioral health and mental health services under Health Choices Medicaid.
This unique population, despite their critical role and lived experience in the behavioral health workforce, faces significant barriers to accessing support services due to insurance limitations. Our approach addresses this service gap by offering culturally responsive, trauma-informed engagement, supportive listening, network enhancement, advocacy, and robust connections to community resources.
Redefine Support aims to enhance the well-being, retention, and ongoing effectiveness of BHWL professionals, ensuring the sustainability and quality of behavioral health services in Allegheny County.
Redefine Support proposes a suite of Administrative Management Services tailored to the needs of behavioral health professionals with commercial insurance. These services are not Health Choices compensable and are differentiated from traditional case management or service coordination.
Core components include:
• Supportive Listening and Guidance: Individualized, trauma-informed sessions to process workplace stressors, vicarious trauma, and challenges unique to their personal concerns and/or professional role.
• Network Enhancement: Facilitating connections to prospective networks, professional development opportunities, and natural supports (family, friends, colleagues) to reduce isolation and foster resilience.
• Advocacy: Assisting behavioral health professionals in navigating insurance barriers, employer policies, and community resources; empowering them to advocate for their own needs and those of their peers.
• Community Resource Linkage: Connecting individuals to culturally responsive mental health providers, wellness programs, housing, food assistance, and other social determinants of health resources.
• Administrative Support: Assistance with benefit applications, verification of eligibility for non-Health Choices programs, and coordination with other human services systems as needed.
Administrative Management Services are essential for behavioral health workers with lived experience in Allegheny County because they reduce administrative burden, prevent burnout, protect the integrity of peer roles, improve access and engagement for individuals, and ensure that lived‑experience providers can participate fully, ethically, and sustainably in the county’s behavioral health system. It is not clinical treatment, case management, or peer support — but it is the infrastructure that makes all of those services possible. All services will be delivered in a manner that builds rapport, reduces stigma, and honors the peer support philosophy.
Service Delivery Methods Our AMS model employs flexible, person-centered engagement strategies, including in person, telephonic, and virtual sessions to accommodate the varied schedules and needs of working lived experience professionals.
Service delivery emphasizes:
• Culturally Responsive Approaches: All staff are trained in cultural humility, trauma informed care, and the unique contexts of peer support work. Materials are available in multiple languages and formats.
• Engagement of Hard-to-Reach Individuals: Proactive outreach through peer networks, employer partnerships, and confidential self-referral mechanisms. We prioritize trust-building and confidentiality to overcome stigma and hesitancy.
• Collaboration with Community Partners: We collaborate with behavioral health providers, advocacy organizations, and resource centers to ensure seamless access to ancillary supports. Our approach is designed to maximize accessibility, engagement, and retention among behavioral health professionals w/ lived experience who may otherwise remain unserved.
In pursuit of our mission to offer culturally responsive, individually tailored support that builds rapport, reduces stigma, and smooths entry into formal behavioral health services, Redefine will provide virtual and in‑person support groups designed to address the most pressing needs of Behavioral Health Workers with Lived Experience (BHWL).
This model fosters peer‑to‑peer connection, empathy, and practical problem‑solving within a safe group of colleagues—avoiding the risks associated with attending community support groups where their own clients may be present.
Certified Peer Support Specialists are a cornerstone of Pennsylvania’s behavioral health workforce, leveraging their lived experience to support others in recovery. However, those employed with commercial insurance—often in provider, hospital, or managed care settings—are uniquely vulnerable: they do not qualify for Health Choices Medicaid and are excluded from most behavioral health case management, service coordination, and crisis supports.
This service gap leaves them at risk for isolation, secondary trauma, and burnout, jeopardizing their well-being and the stability of peer support services industry countywide. Recent workforce surveys and programmatic data indicate that CPS professionals with commercial insurance report higher unmet support needs, increased turnover, and barriers to accessing timely mental health care. By focusing on this population, Redefine Support will address a critical gap, supporting the very individuals who provide essential behavioral health services to others and thereby strengthening the entire system.
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