At the end of this training, we envision that you will be able to:

• Define what a peer professional is;
• Describe the principles that underlie peer support practice;
• Describe the basic skills involved in the practice of peer support;
• Employ an ethical decision-making framework to situations where ethical issues may arise in their practice as peer professionals;
• Apply the principles and skills of a peer professional to a variety of situations, including trauma-informed support, crisis situations, and informed consent;
• Identify the next steps that they need to take to continue the Texas certification process for peer professionals.

Summary of Main Ideas

• This training provides information on the skills and knowledge that are foundational to peer support, regardless of one’s area of focus
• A peer professional is a formal role where a person uses their "lived experience" of navigating recovery (including family recovery), “in addition to skills learned in formal training, to deliver strengths-based, person-centered services to promote a [person’s] recovery and resiliency.”
• Texas peer professionals include many different areas of focus but this training will focus on four distinct peer professional roles in Texas: Certified Family Partners, Mental Health Peer Specialists, Recovery Support Peer Specialists, and Reentry Peer Specialists.

Overview of Training

This training covers the core principles and skills of a Texas peer professional. A peer professional is a formal role where a person uses their "lived experience" of navigating recovery (including family recovery), “in addition to skills learned in formal training, to deliver strengths-
based, person-centered services to promote a [person’s] recovery and resiliency.”

peer professionals

refers to four distinct roles: Family Partners, Mental Health Peer Specialists, Recovery Support Peer Specialists, and Reentry Peer Specialists

Family Partner

A person who has lived experience parenting a child experiencing mental, emotional or behavioral health challenges and who can articulate the understanding of their experience with another parent or family member.

Mental Health Peer Specialist

A person who has lived experience of recovery with mental health challenges who is trained to support people with mental health challenges.

Recovery Support Peer Specialist

A person who has lived experience of recovery with substance use challenges who is trained to support people with substance use challenges.

Reentry Peer Specialist

A person with experience of incarceration who is trained to support people with a mental health and/or substance use challenge who are or have been
incarcerated.

Basic Group Guidelines

Be Present

Be Mutual & Respectful

Reduce Distractions

Be Present

This training provides necessary skills for your practice as a peer professional, so we encourage you to be as present as possible. This includes participating in all of the activities and having your camera on as much as possible. Additionally, please do your best to be present in our shared learning environment, and try not to answer emails or engage in other work activities while on the call.

Be Mutual & Respectful

Mutuality and respect are at the heart of peer support, so we ask you to start practicing these values during our time together.

Reduce Distractions

Please do not participate while driving, do your best not to talk to others who are off screen while you are on camera (including taking phone calls), and if you share a space with others, make sure that they are aware that you are in a training and consider blurring your background