Peer support specialist

A certified peer support specialist, also known as a certified peer specialist, is a person with significant life-altering experience. This is also referred to as 'lived experience'. These specialists support individuals with struggles pertaining to mental health, psychological trauma or substance use. Because of their lived experience, such persons have expertise that professional training cannot replicate. This is not to be confused with peer educators, who may not consider recovery a suitable goal for everyone and may focus instead on the principles of harm reduction. A certified peer support specialist, also known as a certified peer specialist, is a person with significant life-altering experience. This is also referred to as 'lived experience'. These specialists support individuals with struggles pertaining to mental health, psychological trauma or substance use. Because of their lived experience, such persons have expertise that professional training cannot replicate. This is not to be confused with peer educators, who may not consider recovery a suitable goal for everyone and may focus instead on the principles of harm reduction. Tasks performed by peer support specialists may include assisting their peers in articulating their goals for recovery, learning and practicing new skills, helping them monitor their progress, supporting them in their treatment, modeling effective coping techniques and self-help strategies based on the specialist's own recovery experience, and supporting them in advocating for themselves to obtain effective services. As of September 2012, 36 states of the US had established programs that train and certify individuals with lived experience who have initiated their recovery and are willing to support others in their recovery process. A peer recovery support specialist (P-RSS) is an occupational title of trained individuals who engage with peers in a community-based recovery center, or outside it around any number of activities, or over the telephone. The peer support specialist can work with individuals as they develop and implement a personal recovery plan, which can also serve as a contract for engagement. The Veterans Administration has increased its number of peer specialists to 800 as of the end of 2013. The VA uses peer support specialists much like local, state, and private agencies. Recovery plans can take many forms. A key component of the recovery management model is a personal recovery plan which is drawn up by the individual looking for support, and reviewed with an RSS. This plan is instrumental for individuals in the process of their recovery. Central to such plans are the overall health and well-being of each individual, not just their mental health. Components often include support groups and individual therapy, basic health care maintenance, stable housing, improvements in family life and personal relationships, and community connections. The plan may also include education goals, vocational development and employment. Some plans outline a timetable for monitoring, and/or a plan for re-engagement when needed to balance the health and overall quality of life of each individual. Peer recovery support specialists can be found in an increasing variety of settings, including community-based recovery centers. Funding for peer recovery programs comes from a combination of federal and state agencies as well as local and national charities and grant programs, such as Catholic Charities and the United Way. When peer support specialists work in publicly funded services, they are required to meet government and state certification requirements. Since the adaptation of the Recovery Management Model by state and federal agencies, peer support specialist courses have been offered by numerous state, nonprofit and for-profit entities such as Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery, PRO-ACT (Pennsylvania Recovery Organization-Achieving Community Together), The McShin Foundation, Tennessee Certified Peer Recovery Specialist Training and Program, Appalachian Consulting Group, and the State of New York's Office of Addiction Services. PARfessionals has developed the first internationally approved online training program for peer support specialists in the fields of mental health and addiction recovery. In addition, numerous for-profit firms offer peer support specialist training. Training includes courses on the ethics of a recovery coach, recovery coaching core competencies, clinical theories as stages of change, motivational interviewing, and co-occurring disorders.