This course provides Peer Support Specialists with an opportunity to explore methods of encouraging consumers to engage in systemic advocacy. Utilizing principles of self-advocacy and individual advocacy, the Peer Support Specialist will be introduced to relevant information, approaches, and strategies that can be used to empower the consumer to seek
systems-level changes. Leaners will be introduced to different methods of systemic advocacy, the role of the peer support specialist in systemic advocacy and be introduced to concepts that aim to increase the leaner’s confidence in supporting a consumer who is interested in engaging in systemic advocacy.
This course provides Peer Support Specialists with an opportunity to explore the principles of cultural and structural humility. In building upon concepts of culture, cultural identity, social institutions, and more, learners will be encouraged to move forward with concepts of competency to develop an approach of humility. In doing so, learners will be able to distinguish between competency and humility as they develop an understanding of the history of cultural humility, what characterizes cultural and structural humility, and how this relates to the work of the peer support specialist
This 2-hour course explores principles of digital fluency, building upon skills associated in digital literacy, and discusses disparities in access to digital resources among underserved populations. By the end of this course, leaners will be able to identity key skills associated with digital fluency, identify the relevance of digital fluency in the role of the Peer Support Specialist, and be introduced to concepts that aim to increase the leaner’s confidence in using digital tools when supporting a consumer.
This two-part course helps Peer Support Specialists build emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and self-efficacy, focusing on how these skills benefit both supporters and consumers. Learners will gain knowledge of emotional intelligence components, its importance in peer support, and strategies to strengthen it, demonstrated through a post-test at the end of Part I.
This two-part course provides Peer Support Specialists with an opportunity to explore the concepts of emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and self-efficacy. Learners will develop an understanding of key factors related to each concept, benefits for the peer supporter and consumer, and useful tools to encourage growth. Part II of this course will draw on knowledge obtained from Part I. By the end of Part II, learners will be able to identify key components of self-awareness and self-efficacy, understand the importance of self-awareness and self-efficacy to peer support work, and list strategies for enhancing self-awareness and self-efficacy. Culminating both parts of this two-part series, learners will also develop the ability to identify the relationships between emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and self-efficacy.Â
Through the training, peers learn how CBT identifies the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and how cognitive distortions — such as personalization, catastrophizing, and black-and-white thinking — can negatively influence mental health.
This course explores diverse forms of grief: acute, disenfranchised, anticipatory, and ambiguous, through the lens of marginalized communities impacted by incarceration, overdose, systemic racism, and generational trauma.
This 1.5-hour course covers the impact of opioids, particularly fentanyl, on the current overdose epidemic and provides steps for responding to suspected opioid overdoses. Participants will learn about the mechanism of action of naloxone, how to administer it effectively, and the importance of understanding the signs of an opioid overdose. Participants will learn harm reduction approaches and philosophies that support individuals in recovery, enhance engagement in treatment, and elevate the effectiveness of existing evidence-based practice. The course also includes information on safer use supplies, barriers to substance use disorder treatment, and non-punitive response strategies to support ongoing treatment goals.
This course explores the role of families in SUD and mental health treatment, highlighting the impact of family dynamics on recovery. Participants will analyze strategies for family engagement, discuss common challenges, and practice boundary-setting techniques. Additionally, this training will emphasize the ethical considerations and confidentiality aspects of involving families in treatment.
This 3-hour course continues the topic of professional ethics, and personal and professional boundaries. It also distinguishes between cultural competency and cultural humility, and covers implicit biases, responding to discrimination, recognizing countertransference and burnout, and 42 C.F.R. Part 2 laws
This 3-hour course covers the principles of professional ethics, the Peer Support Specialist Code of Ethics, personal and professional boundaries, examples and case study analyses, updated 2024 Peer Support confidentiality laws, HIPAA laws and common questions and answers about HIPAA, and reflection activities to promote engagement with the course content.
This 2-hour training explores the framework of liberation psychology to further understand mental, substance use, systemic conditions, and additional factors of overall well-being and the use of practice tools to provide support for clients and real-life experiences.
This 2-hour professional development session is designed for practitioners ready to move beyond introductory-level Motivational Interviewing (MI) and into the space where change is nurtured under pressure; among clients who are resistant, justice-involved, or experiencing co-occurring mental health and substance use challenges.
This course empowers Peer Support Specialists to lead trauma-informed, culturally responsive support groups rooted in collective healing and mutuality. Participants will explore best practices in establishing group safety, managing emotional intensity, navigating complex group dynamics, and sustaining wellness as facilitators. The training emphasizes emotional regulation, co-regulation, nonmaleficence, and accessible facilitation practices across different cognitive styles and cultural contexts.
The professional growth and ethics course will review the role morals, ethics and values play in Peer Support. Students will explore how ethical dilemmas might show up in the field and how the CalMHSA code of ethics can be utilized as tool to guide them through these situations. The course will investigate the evolution of medical ethics and how peers can leverage their own value system in any areas where the professional code of ethics fall short.
