Peer Recovery Support Specialists

Peer Recovery Support Specialists (PRSS) are individuals who use their personal experience with substance use and recovery to help others on their journey to sobriety. They offer support, guidance, and hope to people who are working to overcome addiction. Having lived experience allows PRSS to relate to the challenges and emotions their peers face in recovery.

Key Responsibilities of a Peer Recovery Support Specialist (PRSS)

1. Emotional Support: PRSSs offer encouragement, validation, and empathy, often sharing their own recovery stories to help others feel less isolated and more hopeful about the possibility of recovery.
2. Advocate for Recovery Resources: PRSSs connect individuals to resources and services, such as treatment programs, housing, education, job training, and social support networks, helping them navigate what can often be a complex and intimidating system. PRSSs also advocate on behalf of their clients while navigating the criminal justice system, helping them gain access and secure services and support they might need.
3. Goal Setting: PRSSs assist individuals in setting realistic and meaningful goals for their recovery.
4. Self-Advocacy and Empowerment: PRSSs encourage individuals to take control of their recovery process, build confidence, and make informed decisions about their health and well-being.
5. Stigma and Isolation: PRSSs help reduce stigma around mental health and substance use disorders as individuals with lived experience, offering a perspective that fosters understanding and acceptance.
6. Behavioral Modeling: PRSSs demonstrate strategies for managing stress, maintaining progress towards goals, and addressing the challenges of recovery, providing a living example of successful recovery.

Peer Recovery Support Specialists (PRSSs) are employed by a variety of organizations within the healthcare and social services sectors, as well as by community and government programs. Some of the common employers of PRSSs include:

• Behavioral Health Treatment Centers: Both inpatient and outpatient treatment centers for substance use and mental health disorders frequently employ PRSSs to provide support and guidance for individuals in recovery.
• Hospitals and Emergency Departments: Hospitals, especially emergency departments, hire PRSSs to engage with individuals who come in with substance use-related issues or crises. PRSSs offer immediate support and link patients to treatment resources upon discharge.
• Community Mental Health Centers: These centers employ PRSSs to help support individuals with mental health and co-occurring substance use disorders, providing a holistic approach to recovery support within community settings.
• Recovery Residences: lay a vital role in recovery residences by offering guidance, support, and mentorship to individuals navigating substance use recovery.
• Nonprofit Organizations: Many nonprofits focused on recovery, substance use prevention, and mental health employ PRSSs as part of their outreach and support services. Examples include organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and local recovery community organizations (RCOs).
• Law Enforcement/Jails: Law enforcement settings employ PRSS to provide essential support to individuals with substance use or mental health challenges, focusing on recovery, reintegration, and reducing recidivism.

Most PRSSs undergo training in areas such as ethics, communication, boundaries, trauma-informed care, and crisis intervention.

How to Become a Peer Recovery Support Specialist
To become a PRSS, you need to meet specific training and certification requirements. These steps include:

1. Personal Recovery Experience: Most programs require candidates to have lived experience with addiction and at least one year in recovery, but this varies widely by state and hiring organization.
2. Training: PRSS training programs cover topics like active listening, cultural sensitivity, ethics, and strategies for providing recovery support.
3. Certification: Many states and organizations require certification, which typically involves passing an exam after completing training.
4. Continuing Education: PRSS often need to take additional courses to maintain their certification.

**States and employment organizations vary widely in the requirements to become a peer recovery support specialist.

Doors to Wellbeing has compiled a Peer Specialist Database of training and certification requirements and appropriate contact information in each state. Costs, payment options, and educational requirements also depend on where you are located. Click below to check your state and local requirements to become a certified peer recovery support specialist.

While being a PRSS is rewarding, it also comes with challenges:

• Burnout: Supporting others can be emotionally draining, so self-care is crucial.
• Boundaries: It’s important for PRSS to maintain professional boundaries while building trust.
• Relapse Risk: Working closely with those still struggling can sometimes trigger personal challenges for PRSS.
• Stigma: PRSS may face stigma about their past addiction or their work in the recovery field.

Ongoing supervision, peer support groups for PRSS, and continued education can help address these challenges.

*It is crucial for Peer Recovery Support Specialists (PRSS) to interview potential employers to ensure that the workplace supports their recovery journey and professional well-being. Employers who understand and respect the importance of manageable caseloads, access to self-care resources, and a recovery-positive culture can significantly enhance a PRSS’s ability to thrive both personally and professionally. Evaluating whether the organization aligns with their values and provides recovery capital—such as peer support, flexible scheduling for self-care, and ongoing training—helps PRSS sustain their own recovery while effectively supporting others.

Deeply invested in their own recovery, PRSS make a real difference in others recovery process. Their lived experience, combined with training, creates a unique form of support that can’t be replaced. Studies show that peer support can help people stick to their treatment1, stay away from substances2, start medications for addiction,2 and avoid returning to substance use. Peer support specialists connect people with healthcare providers and give advice and support that makes treatment work better. PRSS remind us that recovery is possible and that no one has to face it alone.

If you’re passionate about helping others and have lived experience in recovery, becoming a PRSS might be the right path for you!

References

1. Zuccarini MM, Stiller C. The Effect of Peer Support on Treatment Engagement for Opioid Use Disorder. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc. 2024;30(3):709-715. doi:10.1177/10783903221128062
2. Gormley MA, Pericot-Valverde I, Diaz L, et al. Effectiveness of peer recovery support services on stages of the opioid use disorder treatment cascade: A systematic review. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2021;229:109123. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.109123
3. Boisvert RA, Martin LM, Grosek M, Clarie AJ. Effectiveness of a peer-support community in addiction recovery: participation as intervention. Occup Ther Int. 2008;15(4):205-220. doi:10.1002/oti.257