SAMHSA Releases Peer Support Recovery Guide

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released their new guide “How Can a Peer Specialist Support my Recovery from Problematic Substance Use?”, which offers people with problematic substance use a ho-to resource about working on recovery with a peer specialists.

Peer specialists are trained professionals with lived experience of problematic substance use, behavior change, and recovery. Peer specialists have long worked at recovery-focused community organizations; they can now often be found in substance use disorder treatment programs and other settings.

Key topics covered in this guide include:

• Who are peer specialists.
• How peer support services can benefit people in or seeking recovery.
• The range of services that peer specialists may provide.
• Peer specialists’ roles and values.
• The types of organizations that offer peer support services, and how to find such places.
• How to get the most out of working with peer specialists.

Through visual aids illustrating the integration of peer specialists into the treatment and recovery landscape and practical forms that readers can fill out, this consumer guide will help facilitate a strong start toward collaboration with a peer specialist.