Tammy Burch’s Recovery Story
Name: “Tammy” Tamara Margaret Burch
Where do you live? I live in Miami (in the Northside area of West Little River).
Family: My closest family is my parents, plus my brother and his family: my sister-in-law, niece, and nephew.
Hobbies: My hobby is reading Buddhist writing.
What do you do for work: I am a certified recovery peer specialist whose role is as Peer Bridger (on the Peers on the Move team) at Fresh Start of Miami-Dade, Inc.
Tell us about your recovery journey: My recovery journey is trying to get more like my brain when I was well (before seventh grade) and always trying to be healthier and more well.
In high school and college, I tried to achieve this through nutrition and running cross-country and track, trying to do things right. At that time, my academics were not going very well due to my mental illnesses. From about age 23-37, I tried health food, as well as the medication and therapy with behavioral health professionals. From ages 37-38, I lost my full-time job I had.
From about age 23-37, I decided my way would be to go without medication and a psychiatrist. The repercussions of that choice have been endless. I went through a mental health crisis, lost my footing financially, and entered a guardianship in which I lost many rights.
In 2022, I joined Key Clubhouse, through which I achieved employment at Fresh Start of Miami-Dade, Inc., and my recovery really started in meaning and in name. I had never learned about recovery before. Today, the communities basic to my recovery are Fresh Start of Miami-Dade, Inc., and Key Clubhouse of South Florida. My recovery is going fairly well.
My connections to Thriving Mind are that it is a major funder of my community where I live (Key Clubhouse) and work (Fresh Start of Miami-Dade, Inc.) so I really appreciate Thriving Mind. Thriving Mind funds recovery for those who cannot afford all of it on their own, and I appreciate receiving the support and providing it to those I serve at work. Because of Thriving Mind, I have a lot of independence and work that is good for me.
My peer work is as a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist. I started working in the field before I started to get certified — in Fresh Start’s drop-in center — and completed certification in January of last year. I really benefited from all the group work I got to do while working part-time in the drop-in center. Since April, I have been working full time as a Peer Bridger (part of the Peers on the Move Team). Peers on the Move primarily supports peers who have been in the South Florida State Hospital by helping them to establish their recoveries in the outside community.
I like to help people because the Dalai Lama, whose words I read. He said that if we want help we should help others — that helping others is the best way to help ourselves.
Peer work is really important to me because peer work has powerful political roots. We are grounded in the civil rights movement. I am seeking to become free, and peer movements are both political and compassionate in nature. My freedom is tied to my work role. Also, the principles peers embody are really important to me (National Practice Guidelines for Peer Supporters) as I grow as a behavioral health professional.
What you would like people to know about being a peer? What I would want people to know about my being a peer is that I really try to make my money ethically. Working toward things like respecting diversity and maintaining confidentiality are the main moves I make. The morality of myself as a peer is really important.
What is your success story? My main success story as a peer is that I have been able to sometimes be someone my peers felt they could talk with and rely on. I am so happy to think back on many peers I have shared with whose lives have touched mine.
Personally, being a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist means to me that I am well on my way to the career I dream of in behavioral health; I am certain that I have found my calling.
Tell us about a moment of impact. A moment in peer work that has really stayed with me is when the process of motivational interviewing with a client showed me that she and I were both creating our daily happiness through our decisions and efforts.
I stay grounded in my role through doing as much meditation as possible and connecting with my religion (Tibetan Buddhism). I maintain boundaries by taking my own vows seriously (this creates respect for others).
I wish more people knew what peer support is, and hope the field grows.
I celebrate my wins and those wins of my peers through meditation and prayer.
What helps on difficult days? During difficult days, what keeps me motivated is my determination to conquer the symptoms of my mental illnesses. My prayer is that my progress benefits others who are struggling.
I regularly use mindfulness meditation for my wellness.
I hope peer support stays grounded in its history and maintains its independence.
What inspired you to become a peer specialist? What inspired me to become a peer specialist was talking with a former Key Clubhouse employee who I really trusted because she does not lie. I told her about my dream to finish my master’s in counseling. She realized I wanted to be in the behavioral health field but could not finish my degree yet and told me that she thought I wanted to become a peer specialist. Before that conversation, I had not heard of a peer specialist.
Tell us about challenges you face. The challenges I have faced in my peer work are my symptoms of my mental illnesses coming up constantly. For example, I am slow in thinking and movement due to my depression, have disorganized thinking related to my schizophrenia symptoms. (I am diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, major depressive type). I have racing thoughts and get overwhelmed by fear often when tasks are pending, ending up pausing and starting over. (My psychiatrist says I very well may have obsessive compulsive disorder on paper). Basically, I have many cognitive issues due to my mental illnesses which make it really hard to get work done. I am constantly overcoming these challenges, plus what I think is excoriation disorder, through the help of the Buddhas and my determination to do an excellent job (since at Fresh Start we pursue excellence).
What do you say to others? I would advise someone just starting their recovery journey to seek out a community (or communities) of people in recovery as I have found mine really inspiring.
I take care of myself while supporting others by trying to see their point of view. Basically, empathy keeps me going.
How mentors help. I have many mentors and role models who influence my work. They cause me to be more mindful, as well as share the peace and firmness of spirit that come from mindfulness. I shared with them prayerfully that I learned from a Magellan publication Tanya Humphrey sent me that one way peer specialists help clients is to support their mindfulness of the five senses. I also shared with them prayerfully that following my WRAP plan is one of the ways I stay as healthy as I can.