Certified Peer Specialists
A Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) is a paid staff person with a mental health diagnosis who has successfully completed training and certification to help her/his peers identify and achieve specific life goals. A CPS works within Assertive Community Treatment, Intensive Residential Treatment and Adult Mental Health Rehabilitative programs.
A CPS promotes self-determination, personal responsibility and empowerment inherent in recovery, and assists people with psychiatric diagnoses to regain control over their lives and their recovery process.
History
During the 2007 Minnesota legislative session, CSN’s first ever sponsored legislation, the Certified Peer Specialist Bill, was passed and became law. The CPS Law recognizes the validity of peer-to-peer support services and establishes an opportunity for consumers to become certified peer specialists and gain employment within the mental health care community.
CSN has played an integral part in developing and implementing the CPS training curriculum. As the CPS program continues to develop, consumer input is needed. CSN is working with the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ Mental Health Division to develop a program that represents the needs and values of consumers and recovery.
The Program
The CPS training curriculum is designed with recovery as the core value. The training provides an atmosphere that is conducive to learning core philosophies, helper attitudes, concepts, and skills related to recovery and peer support. Training sessions are designed to provide a “hands-on” experience translating concepts and skills into practice. Sessions provide an experiential process (small-group work) to parallel Certified Peer Specialist practice expectations. The curriculum is designed to help solidify learning by relating each session of the training encounter to the participant’s personal experience of recovery. By participating in the training, it is expected that participants will:
- Gain new knowledge
- Develop new skills
- Increase personal awareness
- Enhance their personal recovery
Our work with CPS is ongoing. The information on this page is current as of December 2009. Check back frequently for updates including training opportunities to become a CPS.