Peer Specialist (Relapse Prevention Team)

AltaPointe Health•Mobile, AL

About The Position

The Peer Specialist on the Relapse Prevention Team engages and empowers individuals at high risk of relapse through recovery-oriented peer support. The position strengthens treatment engagement, promotes community integration, reinforces relapse-prevention strategies, and supports transitions from higher levels of care. Its goals include reducing psychiatric hospitalizations, crisis episodes, emergency department utilization, substance use relapse, homelessness, and criminal justice involvement while improving long-term recovery outcomes. The role uses lived experience to build trusting relationships, provide recovery coaching and education, support individualized recovery planning, connect individuals with community resources, and collaborate with an interdisciplinary team. It also includes crisis-prevention outreach, timely and compliant documentation, performance-improvement participation, professional development, and adherence to confidentiality and peer-support ethics requirements.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
Must be 23 years of age.
Must maintain a valid Alabama driver license, an acceptable driving record, and proof of current liability insurance.
Alabama Certified Peer Specialist certification is preferred or must be obtained within six months of employment.
Within six months of employment, obtain knowledge of psychiatric disorders in the adult population; cultural diversity; behavior management, crisis intervention, interventions common to acute psychotic consumers, and non-violent crisis intervention practices; psychiatric rehabilitation principles; available community employment resources; and educational methods appropriate to adults with psychiatric disorders.

Nice To Haves

Peer Specialist Certification through the State of Alabama Department of Mental Health.

Responsibilities

Build trusting, recovery-oriented relationships using lived experience to promote hope, resilience, self-determination, and self-advocacy.
Engage people transitioning from inpatient hospitalization and other intensive behavioral health services, and proactively conduct outreach to individuals at risk of relapse, crisis service use, homelessness, or treatment disengagement.
Help individuals identify strengths, recovery goals, wellness objectives, relapse triggers, early warning signs, and barriers to recovery.
Support individualized recovery plans, including WRAP, IMR, WMR, crisis-prevention plans, safety plans, and relapse-prevention strategies.
Provide recovery coaching to support treatment engagement, personal accountability, independent functioning, and use of coping strategies.
Model recovery appropriately while maintaining professional boundaries and following the Alabama Certified Peer Specialist Code of Ethics.
Encourage participation in treatment, medication management, behavioral health and substance use services, primary care, and wellness activities.
Help individuals pursue goals involving employment, education, housing, relationships, health, and community participation; support self-advocacy and informed decision-making.
Connect individuals with community resources, including housing, transportation, employment, education, food assistance, legal resources, financial benefits, and recovery supports.
Educate individuals about benefits such as Medicaid, Medicare, SSI, SSDI, and SNAP; help them obtain identification, complete applications, renew benefits, and secure required documentation.
Teach practical community living skills, including transportation planning, budgeting, shopping, medication routines, social skills, and independent living skills.
Encourage participation in mutual-support and recovery groups, including AA, NA, SMART Recovery, and Dual Recovery Anonymous.
Collaborate with the interdisciplinary Relapse Prevention Team and community partners; attend treatment team meetings and advocate for individuals’ recovery goals and preferences.
Communicate changes in functioning, engagement, recovery progress, and barriers to the treatment team; assist with appointment reminders, missed-appointment follow-up, and re-engagement.
Support continuity of care during transitions between behavioral health and medical service levels.
Help individuals recognize relapse warning signs, use crisis and safety plans, and use coping skills and natural supports before symptoms escalate.
Immediately notify the Lead Therapist or appropriate clinical staff of significant mental-status changes, medication non-compliance, suicidal or homicidal ideation, substance use relapse, psychiatric decompensation, aggressive behavior, self-harm, homelessness risk, or other identified Red Flag Alert events.
Provide education and coaching on recovery, whole health, wellness, self-care, symptom management, relapse prevention, and healthy lifestyle practices; teach strategies using approved recovery tools and curricula.
Educate staff, individuals served, and families when appropriate about the role and value of Certified Peer Support Specialists.
Complete required documentation within 24 hours of service delivery in accordance with Alabama Medicaid Chapter 105, CCBHC standards, organizational policies, and accreditation requirements.
Maintain accurate, timely, person-centered electronic health record documentation of services, medical necessity, interventions, treatment-goal progress, recovery outcomes, participation, outreach, care coordination, and community contacts.
Maintain confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2, and organizational policies.
Maintain a minimum productivity expectation of five patient contacts per day unless otherwise directed by program leadership.
Participate in team meetings, Performance Improvement initiatives, program evaluations, committees as assigned, supervision, and consultation.
Complete required training and maintain Alabama Certified Peer Specialist certification and required continuing education.
Treat individuals, families, visitors, and coworkers with dignity, compassion, respect, and cultural humility; demonstrate professionalism, integrity, accountability, and ethical conduct.
Perform other duties as assigned that are consistent with the mission of the Relapse Prevention Team and AltaPointe Health.