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Certified Peer Support Specialists

Training and Engagement

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Association for Peer Support

The Association for Peer Support is a membership-driven program that provides national leadership to strengthen peer support practice and advance the peer support workforce. With the dissolution of a former national organization, the peer support community reached out — and we responded by stepping forward to help organize, support, and grow this vital field.



Peer support is now the fastest-growing direct service workforce in behavioral health care, and it has always been at the heart of the Copeland Center’s mission and values.

Peer Specialist Webinar Series

Peer Decision Coaching: Strengthening Self-Determination and Community Participation

This webinar introduces Peer Decision Coaching, a process involving mutual support between peers to facilitate informed, values-based decisions about community participation in areas such as work, school, leisure, and relationships. The webinar will also share key lessons learned from trying out this approach in practice, including how many people were reached and expressed interest in participating, how participants responded to the intervention, how both participants and peer specialists experienced and viewed the approach, and what factors supported or made it more challenging to use in practice. Participants will have an opportunity to reflect on how these ideas apply to their own work and identify one concrete action step they can take moving forward. While this webinar is designed to be most useful for peer specialists working with young adults, those working with older peers may also find the concepts relevant for supporting community participation and recovery goals. 


Date/Time: Tuesday, July 28, 2026, 2:00pm

Join Link: Click here to register

NC-H.O.P.E Lunch and Learn

Join NC-H.O.P.E. for an H.R.1 overview presented by Shadanna Headen, Senior Engagement Manager with NC Medicaid. Learn about changes and what they mean for North Carolinians. H.R.1 was signed into law on July 4, 2025, and introduced federally required changes that will significantly impact Medicaid eligibility and enrollment.


Date/Time: Thursday, July 30, 2026, 12:00-2:00pm

Join Link: Click here to register

Evidence-Based Self-Help and Peer Support Approach to Wellness and Recovery

Presenting the updated Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) materials on Taking Action: An Evidence-Based Self-Help and Peer Support Approach to Wellness and Recovery (4-part series).

 

These updated workbooks provide additional tools, structured exercises, and practical applications that you can immediately integrate into your work with individuals and groups. Designed to strengthen self-awareness, daily wellness practices, and action planning, the materials build on the core values of hope, self-determination, personal responsibility, and mutual learning. Best of all, the new workbooks are in the public domain and available for download at no cost, making them accessible to communities everywhere.


SAMHSA Offers Free Webinars for Peer Supports and Peer Supervisors


The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers a wide variety of trainings free of charge on their website. These can be for Certified Peer Support Specialists (CPSS) and providers to broaden their skills while working in the community. SAMSHA also provides a Spanish translated free handout on the value of Peer Supports.


Available Trainings:


Get Help 24/7

Peer Warmline

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. The Peer Warmline is available 24/7. It is free and confidential. Call 1-855-PEERS NC

(1-855-733-7762). 

988 Lifeline

Call, text, or chat the 988 Lifeline. The 988 Lifeline is a 24/7 free, confidential mental health hotline that connects individuals in need of support.

Connections App

The CHESS Connections App is staffed by Certified Peer Support Specialists with lived experience. It offers free, 24/7 support.

Get Involved

Register for Side by Side with DMH/DD/SUS

Join the DMH/DD/SUS Mailing List

Visit the Certified Peer Support Specialists Website