Presenters: Melissa Wettengel, MPH, NYCPS, CEO, Hands Across Long Island (HALI), Robbie Lettieri, B.S. NYCPS, YPA-C, Long Island Regional Youth Advocacy Specialist II, NYS Office of Mental Health, Office of Advocacy and Peer Support Services (OAPSS)

In this session, you will learn about the concept of diagnostic overshadowing in peer supervision. Similar to diagnostic overshadowing among medical doctors, it has been documented among supervisors that the perception that their employees have a mental health diagnosis may unintentionally “overshadow” the unique strengths peer staff bring to the workplace. In this session, this parallel will be explored, utilizing video clips from a recent anti-stigma film project. The group will discuss the structural stigma peer employees may experience, and ways supervisors can provide an equitable, empowering environment and avoid veering into clinical or therapeutic supervision styles. This allows peer support employees to thrive, improving the supervisory relationship and increasing peer employee retention.