The Role of a Certified Peer Support Specialist

Certified Peer Support Specialists are generally recognized in their provision of the following services to people living with mental health and/or substance use challenges: • Cultivate empowering and supportive relationships • Use self-disclosure and their own lived experience as a valuable tool • Provide information about recovery-oriented resources • Assist in supporting Users, even in crisis • Value self-determination as a guiding ethical principle • Facilitate person-centered goal setting • Communicate effectively with Users and other team members and Prevail staff • Create an environment of respect for Users and those with lived experience • Seek to understand the roles culture, community, and identity play in Users’ lives • Practice trauma-informed approaches in User relationships • Inspire hope for recovery and wellness

Prevail Certified Peer Support Specialists demonstrate the ability to understand the role of selfdetermination, as well as the recognition and validation that there are many pathways to selfdefined recovery. They understand that Users need to be afforded the freedom to define their struggles and victories on their own terms and make meaning of their own experiences as they see fit.

One of the most important values of a Certified Peer Support Specialist is providing nonjudgmental support to Users they serve. Oftentimes people with lived experience have felt shamed and judged by the systems they interface with, even the systems and agencies meant to support them directly. An effective Certified Peer Support Specialist serves as a validating and nonjudgmental resource to the Users they work with as they navigate their lives and foster their own recovery and resiliency.

Page | 9