Adult Peer Support Specialist

332098 Cumberland River Behavioral Health•Manchester, KY

13h

About The Position

The Adult Peer Support Specialist provides peer counseling, mentoring, advocacy, and practical recovery support to consumers, drawing on personal experience as a recipient of mental health or recovery services. The specialist promotes hope, empowerment, self-determination, and active participation in recovery, and offers the team insight into consumers’ experiences of symptoms, medication, treatment, and recovery. The role collaborates with clinical and support staff to respect consumers’ perspectives and rights, address stigma, and connect consumers with self-help and advocacy organizations. The position also supports treatment and recovery services, including assessment, symptom management, individual, group, and family services, and stage-based treatment for mental illness and substance use disorders. Other duties include employment support; assistance with activities of daily living, housing, finances, transportation, health care, and personal care; and coaching consumers in social relationships and leisure activities. The position is expected to provide an average of 50% direct billable time per month as established by the Agency. Work is arranged in 7.5–8-hour blocks, with hours potentially irregular or flexible according to service needs. Duties may take place in the community, outside in varying weather, away from the normal office, or at a residential program. The work environment has mild to moderate noise. The role may involve anticipated exposure to blood or other infectious materials and requires annual infection-control and safety training. New staff receive training in responding to threats, violence, and other potentially dangerous situations. Employees providing direct care must obtain and maintain CPR certification within one month of employment; First Aid training may also be required.

Requirements

Good oral and written communication skills.
A college degree in a human services field or a high school diploma may be held.
Experience as a recipient of mental health services and/or recovery services, and willingness to use and share personal practical experience, knowledge, and first-hand insight to benefit the team and consumers.
Submit to and pass a background check and drug screen.
Willingness to work flexible hours and travel within the region served.
Ability to communicate and relate well to parents, children, and professionals; listen well, negotiate, and remain objective.
Non-judgmental attitude toward mental health and recovery consumers.
Ability to work with families from diverse cultural, religious, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Flexibility and problem-solving skills to deal with situations that arise.
Common sense and ability to follow policies, procedures, and a code of ethics; maintain healthy boundaries; work enthusiastically as part of a team; learn; remain open-minded; and transfer leadership in an empowering way.
Ability to meet the described physical demands, including reaching, pushing, pulling, stooping, bending, standing, walking, and lifting up to 20 pounds.
Valid driver’s license and safe driving record if required for job performance.
For employees providing direct care, obtain CPR certification within one month of employment and maintain it; First Aid training may be required.
Participate in yearly infection-control and safety training, and attend training on handling threats, violence, and other potentially dangerous situations.

Responsibilities

Provide peer counseling and support, using shared experience to validate consumers and encourage responsibility and active participation in recovery.
Mentor consumers to promote hope and empowerment.
Help other team members understand consumers’ subjective experiences and perspectives.
Consult with the team from a recovering consumer’s perspective about symptoms, medication effects and side effects, treatment responses, and recovery experiences.
Collaborate with the team to respect consumers’ points of view, preferences, self-determination, and decision-making in treatment planning.
Help consumers recognize and address stigma and discrimination, including self-stigma, and help team members develop strategies to eliminate stigma within the team.
Help protect consumers’ rights and increase their understanding of rights and grievance procedures; support consumers with filing, mediating, and resolving complaints.
Encourage participation in consumer self-help programs and advocacy organizations, and serve as liaison to consumer-run programs such as self-help groups and drop-in centers.
Share in providing treatment, recovery, and rehabilitation services, including an average of 50% direct billable time per month as established by the Agency.
Assist with ongoing assessment of mental illness symptoms and responses to treatment, and suggest treatment-plan changes when a consumer’s mental status or behavior creates risk.
Assist with individual, group, and family clinical services in office and community settings, including teaching symptom-management techniques and supporting personal growth and coping with stress.
Assist with individual and group treatment using a non-confrontational, stage-based model that accounts for interactions between mental illness and substance use disorder and uses consumer-determined goals.
Provide mentoring, problem solving, encouragement, and support on and off the job site, including work-related assistance such as clothing, grooming supplies, wake-up calls, and transportation.
Assess needs and provide problem solving, side-by-side support, skills teaching, prompts, encouragement, and environmental adaptations for activities of daily living.
Help consumers find and maintain safe, affordable housing, including apartment hunting, roommate searches, landlord negotiations, cleaning, furnishing, decorating, and obtaining necessities and utility connections.
Support consumers with household tasks, personal hygiene and grooming, nutrition education, meal planning, grocery shopping, and food preparation.
Help consumers obtain financial support, pursue employment and entitlements, learn money-management skills, and access financial services.
Help consumers access reliable transportation, including obtaining a driver’s license, arranging rides or cabs, and using public transportation.
Support consumers in finding and effectively using primary care physicians, dentists, and other medical specialists.
Coach and encourage consumers in socializing and participating in community activities, including activities offered by consumer-run peer support organizations.
Help consumers plan and carry out leisure activities on evenings, weekends, and holidays; organize and lead individual or group social and recreational activities.
Provide practical support, mentoring, advocacy, coordination, individualized assistance, problem solving, and supervision to help consumers obtain necessities such as health care, legal and advocacy services, benefits, housing subsidies, money-management services, and transportation.