OCD Lemmonaide

01/03/2026

Long time, no post! I'm back, resuming posting with a definition of peer support, a service I am going to be providing later this January!

Many people have heard of peer support, but what is it exactly?🤔

A key distinction of peer support is that it is grounded in mutual lived experience. The peer support specialist, like you, may have a mental health condition or substance use disorder themselves or they may be very close to a loved one who struggles with those challenges. Peer support is grounded in mutuality, empathy, and respect. It is recovery-oriented, trauma-informed, and strengths-based. Mutual encouragement and empowerment is given to one another.

What peer support is NOT is therapy, clinical advice, or medication management. It doesn't replace any of these things, either. But it can complement treatment. According to Mental Health America, peer support is evidence-based and can have benefits such as improving quality of life, decreasing overall cost of services from reduced visits, and improving whole health, even conditions such as diabetes!

If you have a mental health condition or a substance use disorder and can access peer support, check out if it is right for you! Peer support sessions also tend to be much cheaper than therapy.

Stay tuned as I will be opening my own independent OCD peer support services later this month and check out my revamped website, ocdlemmonaide.com!

11/08/2024

Hello! My name is Summer Contreras-Lemmon. I'm a University of Arizona public health graduate living in the lovely sunny city of San Diego, California. I created OCD_Lemmonaide as a way to advocate for those of us with OCD and related disorders, to share evidence-based resources, and to continue the discussion of mental health in the world, especially in faith-based circles. Here, I'll share blog posts I've written, other helpful blogs and articles, and evidence-based resources for the community. Below is my current website, where I also plan to gather these resources. Thanks for any support!

Hi! My name is Summer Contreras-Lemmon. The beautiful woman next to me in the photo is my mother, who passed away from cancer in August 2015. I live in wonderful, sunny San Diego, California, where I was born, but I spent most of my life in Arizona. I grew up in Scottsdale (near Phoenix) and I atten...