FAQ About Peer Support

 

What is a Peer Support Specialist?

A Certified Peer Specialist is a professional who utilizes their personal lived experience to provide support to others and demonstrate that recovery is possible. State of Wisconsin Certified Peer complete peer support training, examination, and continuing education requirements specific to both mental health and substance use-oriented lived experiences.

Can I get certified through At The Roots LLC?

Nope, sorry friend. All trainings are done through The Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative (WIPSEI) in conjunction with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). To learn more about becoming certified and view upcoming trainings, please visit the WIPSEI website by CLICKING HERE.

What’s the difference between a Peer Support Specialist and a Peer Mentor?

A peer support specialist has gone through the training and certification process as outlined by the State of Wisconsin as defined here. A peer mentor has not gone through that process yet but has participated in other training modalities both within our organization and through other outside organizations. For example, a peer mentor may be trained in yoga or as a WRAP Facilitator. We do not require a person to be certified as a peer support specialist in order to be a provider for us for a few reasons. One, it is not always easy to get into a training due to high demand and a limited number of training sessions available. Two, the CPS method is NOT the only valid form of non-clinical support available and if we are to honor multiple pathways to recovery, we must have people trained in various modalities for supporting them. While we encourage our providers to become certified, we also encourage our certified providers to seek out other learning opportunities so they can expand their offerings, knowledge, and tools for supporting others. A mix is best, in our opinion.

Is Peer Support the same as therapy?

Nope. While both clinicians and Peer Support Specialists are professionals in the field of mental health and recovery support, the path one takes to receive their title and their roles on a recovery team are pretty different.

While you’ll likely see some overlapping themes (both are professions of caring people, for example) Peer Support centers the person as the expert in their lives and focuses on what a person finds meaningful, what they believe their challenges are, and is more present/future-oriented. It’s not the job of a certified peer support specialist to diagnose, prescribe, or even tell a person what to do. We believe our role is to support and walk alongside people as they decide the best course of action for themselves, rather than to lead them where we think they should go.

The Wisconsin Peer Specialists website recognizes our roles as being ones that:

  • Cultivate empowering and supportive relationships

  • Use self-disclosure and their own lived experience as a valuable tool

  • Provide information about community and recovery-oriented resources upon request

  • Assist in supporting their peers, even in crisis

  • Value self-determination as a guiding ethical principle

  • Facilitate person-centered goal setting

  • Communicate effectively with their peers, other team members, and clinicians

  • Create an environment of respect for their peers and those with lived experience

  • Seek to understand the roles culture, community, and identity play in their peers’ lives

  • Practice trauma-informed approaches in their peer relationships and workplaces

  • Affect positive change in systems

  • Inspire hope for recovery and wellness

Is Peer Support a replacement for Therapy?

Peer support should never be considered a replacement for any type of necessary clinical or medical health care. We are not doctors or psychologists or even licensed therapists. If you need their specific treatment, then you should continue (or start) to see a professional in that field that you trust.

However, for some people, the traditional methods of recovery and mental health support haven’t been effective or haven’t been ‘enough’ on their own. Peer support can address a gap in care that clinical models simply cannot based on the nature of their systems. Additionally, some people have experienced trauma and have been hurt by the traditional medical and mental health system and as a result, find peer support is a space that allows them to process that while working towards re-engaging with higher levels of care long term.

Many people utilize peer support in tandem with traditional mental health and recovery methods, others seek it after they’ve exhausted other options without finding success, and some make a personal decision that peer support is what is best for them and all they need in the present moment. Peer support honors where you are and believes in self-determination - meaning you know what’s best for you.

What can I expect from a session with a Peer Support Specialist?

Each person is different and so, your sessions will be uniquely tailored to you, your needs, and the goals you want to achieve. Peer support specialists can work with you on a number of levels from understanding and improving your mental health to recovery and addiction to setting goals and working towards your dreams. They use their unique lived experience and professional training to support you in the ways that YOU need support. They are not gurus, they’re not going to tell you what to do or ‘prescribe’ anything. They’re there to help support you, help you learn new skills, access resources, and assist you as you develop a plan for wellness that makes sense to YOU.

Do you take insurance?

No, we do not, at least not directly. There are county-level programs that may help folks get connected to peer support through organizations like ours. Folks who receive federally funded health services would need to connect with their county health departments to determine if they’d qualify, if peer support is covered by their program, is deemed medically necessary, etc.

However, we’re one of the only peer support organizations that offer private and direct-pay options. Direct pay allows us to avoid the reporting and documentation requirements of outside entities while also allowing our providers to build people-centered businesses that aren’t driven by corporate or governmental interests while also making a living wage that supports us and our ability to do good in the world.

Building a grassroots-type business that depends solely ON people, allows us to focus our energy ON people and not on bottom lines and red tape.