Certified Peer Support Specialist

About us

We are professional, agile, innovative and our goal is to is to promote mental health awareness, empower individual recovery, and increase access to treatment, services, and resources for persons living with mental illness and addiction..

Our work environment includes:

• Work-from-home days
• Growth opportunities

A. PURPOSE OF POSITION:

Peer Support, Case Support, Community Support, and Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services are structured and scheduled activities for adults age eighteen (18) and older with a diagnosis of Mental Health and Substance Use disorders. Supports are provided by Peer Support Specialists and Paraprofessional staff. Services are individualized, recovery-focused, goal-driven, and allow individuals the opportunity to learn to manage their own recovery and advocacy process. Interventions of Paraprofessional / Peer Support staff serve to enhance the development of natural supports, as well as coping and self-management skills. Interventions of Paraprofessional / Peer Support staff may also provide supportive services to assist an individual in community re-entry following hospitalization.

Support Services emphasize personal safety, self-worth, confidence, and growth, connection to the community, boundary setting, planning, self-advocacy, personal fulfillment, and development of social supports, and effective communication skills. Support Services emphasize the acquisition; development; expansion of rehabilitative skills needed to move forward in recovery.

Examples of specific interventions include:

• Self Help: Cultivating the individual’s ability to make informed, independent choices. Helping the individual develop a network of contacts for information and support based on experience of the Peer Support staff.
• System Advocacy: Assisting the individual to talk about what it means to have a mental illness to an audience or group. Assisting the individual with writing a letter or making a telephone call about an issue related to mental illness or recovery.
• Individual Advocacy: Discussing concerns about medication with the Physician or Nurse at the individual’s request. Helping the individual make appointments for psychiatric and general medical treatment when requested. Guiding the individual toward a proactive role in health care.
• Pre-Crisis and Post Crisis Support: Assisting the individual with the development of a personal crisis plan, and/or a Psychiatric Advance Directive (PAD). This includes help in developing the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP). Giving feedback to the individual on early signs of relapse and how to request help to prevent a crisis. Assisting the individual in learning how to use the crisis plan.

B. WORK SCHEDULE:

Work schedule will vary per assigned client needs.

C. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS:

Peer Support Specialists and Paraprofessionals must be supervised by a Qualified Professional with experience with populations served. Peer Support staff and Paraprofessionals can bill for time developing Psychiatric Advanced Directives as well as Wellness Recovery Action Plans and pre and/or post-crisis plans. Units are billed in fifteen (15) minute increments.

D. DESCRIPTION OF RESPONSIBLITIES AND DUTIES:

The Paraprofessional / Peer Support Specialist primary responsibilities are to direct, coordinate, and manage the activities of a comprehensive mental health program and to ensure the program operates in full compliance with relevant laws, ensure accuracy of data; compliance with regulation; and identify operational efficiencies.

The Peer Support Specialist will provide service activities to include the following interventions:

• Education and training of clients and others who have a legitimate role in addressing the needs identified in the Person-Centered Plan
• Preventive, and therapeutic interventions designed for direct individual activities
• Assist with skill enhancement or acquisition, and support ongoing treatment and functional gains
• Develop interpersonal and community relational skills, including adaptation to home, school, work and other natural environments
• Therapeutic mentoring and Supportive Counseling
• Symptom monitoring and self-management of symptoms
• Inform the client about benefits, community resources and services
• Assist the client in accessing benefits and services
• Arrange for the client to receive benefits and services
• Monitor service provision
• Case management to arrange, link or integrate multiple services as well as assessment and reassessment of the client’s need for services Provide coordination of movement across levels of care, directly to the person/family, Referral linkage and Person-Centered Planning
• Coordinates discharge planning
• Coordinates community re-entry following hospitalization, residential services and other levels of care
• First Responder crisis response on 24/7/365 basis to consumers experiencing a crisis  Service coordination activities within the person-centered plan
• Skill building
• Daily and Community Living Skills
• Socialization skills
• Adaptation skills
• Symptom monitoring and management skills
• Education substance abuse
• Therapeutic mentoring
• Behavior and anger management techniques

E. DOCUMENTATION:

The Paraprofessional / Peer Support Specialist will be responsible for required documentation, to include billable session notes and visit logs.

F. WORK ENVIRONMENT AND CONDITION:

The Paraprofessional / Peer Support Specialist will work in a variety of environments and settings. Paraprofessional / Peer Support Specialist must be able to work flexible hours.

G. TRAINING, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

Case Support and PSR must be delivered by individuals who have the life experience of being diagnosed with a serious mental illness or substance use disorder. Peer Support Services must be delivered by North Carolina Certified Peer Support Specialists

Paraprofessionals and Peer Support Specialists must:

Self-identify as an individual with life experience of being diagnosed with a serious mental illness or substance use disorder which meets Federal Definitions and

 Are well established in their own recovery and

 Are currently in recovery and are stable, and

 Have a high school diploma or GED equivalency, and

 Are supervised by a Qualified Professional (QP), and

 Are not a family member of the individual who receives Peer Support services

Follow the NC Peer Support Certification Guidelines under BHRP (Behavioral Health Resource Plan, School of Social Work, UNC Chapel Hill).

H. REQUIRED MINIMUM TRAINING:

All employees are required to complete agency orientation within the first thirty (30) days of employment. Employees are also required to complete NCI training prior to being alone with any clients. Employees providing Peer Support Services to adults will complete training specific to the required components of the Peer Support service definition including crisis response within the first 90 days of employment.

I. SUPERVISION RECEIVED BY PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST:

The Peer Support Specialist will have access to their supervisor on an ongoing basis through face-to-face contact, via email and through written correspondence or telephone.

J. LICENSE OR CERTIFICATION REQUIRED BY STATUTE OR REGULATION:

A valid NC drivers’ license is required for this position. Must be NC Certified Peer Support Specialist. Bilingual preferred.

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time

Pay: From $17.00 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Flexible schedule
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Referral program
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Work Location: In person

Salary : $17