Behavioral Health Peer Support Specialist (CBHPSS)
Johnny Talawyma Jr. is a Northern Cheyenne tribal member and Hopi descendant. He graduated in May 2022 with his Bachelor Degree in Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Relate Services from the University of Montana of Billings (MSUB). He is currently working on his Master’s Degree in Psychiatric Rehabilitation in Mental Health at Montana State University of Billings and is excited to be testing soon to become fully licensed as a Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC).
Johnny is also excited about his upcoming career goals in the future as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) to help people with co-occurring disorder(s) in mental health and addiction(s). Johnny offers trainings and consulting to clinics, tribal agencies, and urban centers to help get Peer Support Specialist Services up and running. Johnny was a Peer Support specialist in in the past and still holds his Peer Support Specialist License. With this new scope of work as a Peer Support Specialist in the field of addictions and mental health, Johnny has a unique approach/teaching with a Native American prospective on how to work as a peer to peer with client(s).
Johnny loves to be outdoors, being by the water, physical fitness, watching Kansas Basketball (Rock Chalk Jayhawks), and spending time with his family and friends. Johnny is a loving caring uncle who helped and is raising his nephew Karl who has been under his wing since he was a baby boy. Johnny holds strong cultural and traditional values in everything he does in his everyday life as a modern day Native American. He has strong values/beliefs with his medicine from mother earth, prayer, and his higher power with creator. His passion in life is to help people heal from addictions and mental health disorders. As well as to encourage/inspire the youth to live a happy sober life, to get their education, and to not forget where they come from as a Native American(s).
Montana has a documented shortage of licensed mental and behavioral healthcare providers, leading to a recently approved new type of license: Certified Behavioral Health Peer Support Specialist (CBHPSS)[1]. These new licensees require continuing education units, particularly in suicide prevention models of care (for example, QPR, Mental Health First Aid, Trauma-Informed Care). This conference highlights this essential information for CBHPSS and their clinical supervisors.
[1] https://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/behavioral-health/license-information/certified-behavioral-health-peer-support-specialist