Rob Walker (he/him)

Rob Walker joined Momma on December 7, 2020 for a live Q&A via Twitch and YouTube to talk about Peer Specialist Training, Depression, Anxiety & Type 1 Diabetes

About Rob

Rob Walker is a father of 3 grown daughters and a rescue beagle named Hank.  He lives in  a suburb of Boston, and works for the MA Department of Mental Health, brining the voice of people with a diagnosis to the table, to influence policy and programs.  He also works with the Peer workforce in MA, and is an advocate for older adults with behavioral health issues.  Since March of this year, he has worked with an Assistant Professor from Dartmouth College, and an awesome team, to train and certify over 3,000 people across the country and the world, to offer peer support remotely, and how to take care of yourself during this "new normal."

Rob has received a number of different diagnoses over the last 50 years, but he is sticking with Major Depressive Disorder and Anxiety, for now.  He has also had diabetes for 48 years.

Episode Summary

If you live with depression, anxiety, or chronic illness, or if you want to understand how peer support can make a real difference, this episode with Rob Walker is for you.

Key Takeaways

• Self-care is essential for mental health professionals to avoid burnout.

• COVID-19 changed the way mental health services are delivered.

• Peer support specialists play a crucial role in mental health advocacy.

• Language used in mental health can be stigmatizing and needs to evolve.

• It's important to check in on friends and family during tough times.

• Pets can significantly improve mental health and provide companionship.

• Therapy should be a good fit; it's okay to change therapists if needed.

• Community support is vital for those struggling with mental health issues.

• Being kind to oneself is as important as being kind to others.

In this episode of Even Tacos Fall Apart, I sat down with Rob Walker, a peer support leader who brings decades of lived experience with depression, anxiety, and type 1 diabetes to his work. Rob lives outside Boston, works with the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, and has been helping shape the peer support workforce both in his state and around the world. He’s also a father of three and a dog dad to Hank, his rescue beagle.

Rob shared how his career has grown out of turning hard personal experiences into meaningful advocacy. He helps oversee the Certified Peer Specialist training program in Massachusetts, where people with lived experience learn how to share their own stories in ways that support others. Beyond that, he and a team from Dartmouth College created a training during COVID that taught peer specialists how to provide support remotely using tools like Zoom, Discord and Teams. What started as a small project has now trained more than 3,000 people across the U.S. and internationally.

When asked what being a peer support specialist means to him, Rob said it gives purpose to years of difficult times. Instead of seeing his diagnoses as only negative, he has found a way to use those experiences to connect with others and remind them they are not alone. He also stressed that the heart of peer support is the relationship, not the method of delivery. Whether it’s a Zoom call, text or even playing a video game online, what matters is the connection.

Rob was candid about challenges too. One ongoing frustration is the way clinical language can reduce people to their diagnoses. He explained how often professionals see him or others as 99 percent “the illness” and only one percent “everything else.” In reality, his diagnosis is just a small slice of his identity, alongside being a father, friend, husband and colleague. He wants more professionals to see people for their whole selves, not just a label.

We talked about how important advocacy is, both at the legislative level and in everyday life. Rob encouraged listeners to follow bills in their state, join advocacy organizations, and speak up when policies affect people with mental health challenges. On a personal level, he suggested simple acts like checking in with friends, sending a quick text or offering to listen. Often those small efforts make the biggest difference.

Self-care was another key theme. Rob admitted he doesn’t always follow his own advice, but he tries to schedule downtime and recognize the signs when he’s slipping. He emphasized that people working from home during the pandemic shouldn’t expect perfection. His reminder: give yourself a break, seventy percent is good enough and don’t feel guilty about it.

Rob also opened up about living with type 1 diabetes since age 15 and how managing both physical and mental health requires attention to sleep, nutrition, and knowing his warning signs. His honesty about symptoms like fatigue, irritability, and hearing voices during severe depression gave listeners a real picture of what those struggles can look like.

He closed with a powerful wish: to erase the misconception that people with mental illness are violent. In fact, they are far more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators. His final advice was simple but important: be kind to others and to yourself.