On behalf of thousands of individuals across Massachusetts who have benefited from our care, GPS Group Peer Support recently submitted testimony to the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health in strong support of S.292/H.377 — An Act relative to growing resources to optimize the utilization of group therapeutic care, aimed at expanding access to high-quality…
BOSTON, MA (May 6, 2025) – GPS Group Peer Support’s MASStrong program officially launched its newest phase on April 1st, 2025, providing expanded access to essential mental health resources and peer support to Massachusetts healthcare workers. The program’s expansion is supported by $5 million in new funding from the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Trust Fund. Designed…
As the new year begins, we often think about ways to improve ourselves and the communities around us. One way to create lasting change is by supporting the development of trained support group leaders. Support groups provide an essential space for individuals to share experiences, receive emotional support, and find a sense of community in…
Millions of Americans are struggling to access behavioral health care. Long wait times, high costs, and a shortage of providers are fueling a mental health crisis. Mental Health America’s 2022 annual report found that 56% of people are not receiving needed treatment for mental health concerns and nearly one-quarter (24.7%) of those seeking mental health…
With a career that spans decades of direct practice, teaching, and advocacy, Debby Beck has dedicated her professional life to helping others and mentoring the next generation of social workers. Beck’s journey began in 1971 when she graduated from Simmons College with a master’s degree in social work (MSW). Like many new professionals, she faced…
“I think we can all agree that policies and practices around refugee resettlement are pretty flawed,” says Aimee Grace Mitchell, founder of Places to Thrive, a nonprofit that creates opportunities for people experiencing forced displacement to heal. “Displacement is inherently traumatic. There’s no room for people to just be people. The entire experience is dehumanizing.”…
We are thrilled to announce that Nelly Willis, GPS Program Director and Director of GPS en Español, participated in a high-level briefing on maternal mental health provided to Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday, July 26. Nelly’s involvement stemmed from her volunteer work with the Maternal Mental Health Hotline, a toll-free, confidential hotline that is…
In her native Serbia, where Katarina Subasic works as a journalist, mental health is a taboo topic. Therapy or other resources for those needing services are scarce, which is how she wound up launching a peer support group for members of her community. “In Serbia and the whole Balkans region, mental health is not really…
“Speaking the truth is a revolutionary act.” is a phrase that Annette Cycon, co-founder of both MotherWoman and GPS Group Peer Support (GPS), has been saying and promoting for decades. “When people speak the truth of what they are living, both they, and the people around them, are changed. All it takes is one person…
We recently asked Julia Ojeda, founder and CEO of RIO Recovery Inspired Opportunities, to assess GPS’s training program for support group facilitators. Ojeda shared feedback from her assessment in an informal interview with GPS CEO and Co-founder Liz Friedman, which we’ve summarized in this post. To assess our facilitator training, Ojeda watched six modules of…
