Peer Support Specialist

Position Summary

The Peer Support Specialist (PSS) is an active member of the Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment Program and provides peer support services to clients actively participating in SUD treatment. The PSS functions as a role model to peers, exhibits competency in personal recovery and use of coping skills, and serves as a consumer advocate, providing consumer information and peer support for clients in outpatient and inpatient settings. The PSS performs a wide range of tasks to assist individuals in regaining independence within the general population and mastering their own recovery process.

Benefits

• Holiday Pay: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day
• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Health Savings Account
• Dependent Care
• Flexible Spending Account
• Life Insurance
• Short Term/Long Term Disability
• Identity Theft Protection
• Pet Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program and Discount Center
• 401K & Plan Matching
• PTO

Essential Functions

• Aid clients in articulating personal goals for recovery through one-to-one and group sessions.
• Support clients in identifying and creating goals and developing recovery plans with the skills, strengths, support, and resources to aid them in achieving those goals.
• Aid clients in working with their Qualified Behavioral Health Professional and treatment team in determining the steps they need to take to achieve their goals and self-directed recovery.
• Utilize tools such as the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) to assist clients in creating their own individual wellness and recovery plans.
• Teach and engage in basic problem-solving strategies to support individual clients in self-directed recovery.
• Assist clients in addressing symptoms using strategies such as positive self-talk.
• Teach clients how to handle problems that may arise in interactions with others through role playing/modeling techniques.

Minimum Requirements

• Knowledge of the Recovery process and the ability to facilitate recovery using established standardized Behavioral Health processes.
• Knowledge and skill to teach and engage in basic problem-solving strategies to support individual clients in self-directed recovery.
• Knowledge of the signs and symptoms of behavioral illness and the ability to assist the client to address symptoms using strategies such as positive self-talk.
• Knowledge and skills sufficient to use community resources necessary for independent living and ability to teach those skills to other individuals with severe behavioral illness.
• Knowledge of how to establish and sustain self-help (mutual support) and educational groups by soliciting input from Behavioral Health consumers on their strengths and interests.
• Peer Support Certification required (CPRS).