Growing Veteran X
Peer Support Specialist Michael Dumaine at the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville, May 2017.
Peer Support is a growing aspect of mental health care across the country. Basically, it uses people who have struggled with mental health or addiction to help people who are new to similar types of recovery. It incorporates a community of support in the clinical care model that helps transition people from clinical treatment to moving on with the rest of their lives.
At Asheville VAMC, part of that Peer support has included a program called “Veteran X.” Veteran X uses a group setting to teach Veterans how to begin to take responsibility for and control over their own problems by solving the problems of a fictional Veteran together.
One of Asheville’s local Veteran X facilitators, Navy Veteran and Peer Support Specialist Michael Dumaine, has been a part of Veteran X for several years and recently became the first nationally certified Veteran X trainer. Being a nationally certified trainer means Dumaine can train other facilitators to start Veteran X programs at other facilities without supervision. Michael says that he couldn’t imagine a better job than helping Veterans heal. “Some days I’m amazed that I have this incredible job. It has its trials and tribulations; it’s challenging when I see people new in recovery living through their challenging behaviors,” said Dumaine. “But, when they stick with it there is nothing more rewarding than seeing them transform.”
The Veteran X program was developed by Peer Specialist Tom Pratt at the Hampton VA and begun at Asheville in 2009. It quickly became popular with Veterans, growing to more than 50 Veterans attending sessions twice a week.
For his certification, Dumaine completed a 36-hour classroom training developed by the Veteran “X” Program Dissemination and Implementation Project, participated in 20 weekly consultative calls, started a Veteran X group, and successfully passed a fidelity review. A fidelity review is a list of elements that must be observed in every Veteran X group, for consistency across the country.
Tom Pratt, Dr. David Shaw, or Dr. Sarah Magnes can be reached for validation information. Applications for the periodic training programs become available after national notification is released. “I don’t think we would have the successful program we offer here without the support of our local leadership,” said Dumaine. “Providers have really embraced peer support and fully integrated it into Veterans healthcare.”
Veterans who are interested in Veteran X should ask their primary care provider about the program.
