National Model Standards for Peer Support Certification

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based upon material published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration and is available as an open-access article. On March 1, 2022, President Biden announced his administrations strategy to address our nations mental health crisis as outlined in the 2022 Presidential Unity Agenda. This national mental health strategy seeks to strengthen system capacity, connect more Americans to care, and create a continuum of support transforming our health and social services infrastructure to address mental health holistically and equitably. A primary goal outlined within this strategy is accelerating the universal adoption, recognition, and integration of the peer mental health workforce across all elements of the healthcare system. This included the development and implementation of a national certification program for mental health peer specialists. To meet this goal, SAMHSA collaborated with federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local partners including peer specialists to develop the National Model Standards for Peer Support Certification, inclusive of substance use, mental health, and family peer certifications. This course on standards for peer support certification is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. In addition, this course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop their knowledge of standards for peer support certification. The course material includes a literature review of research. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing clinical education courses for license renewal.   The course is based on a journal article that includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading and others do not. A significant benefit of reading research-based articles for continuing education is they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field.  Authors:  SAMHSA Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding standards for peer support certification. Specifically, a professional will:  -Describe the process by which the National Model Standards were developed. -Recognize how the National Model Standards benefit the peer workforce. -Identify National Model Standards and their characteristics. -Describe recommendations by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the context of the National Model Standards. Citation:  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2023). National Model Standards for Peer Support Certification. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.samhsa.gov/about-us/who-we-are/offices-centers/or/model-standards