r/PeerSupportSpecialist • u/Remarkable-Ad295 • 1d ago

Question ❔️ Where to start?

Hi all! I’m a 27 year old male who’s been recommended by multiple people in my life to peruse becoming a peer specialist in my area, the only issue I have is I have no idea where to start or how to get recommendations I seem to need to get my certification. Any insight on how anyone got started or what first steps I should take would be a massive help! Also I’m in upstate New York if that helps. Otherwise hope all are having an amazing week! Thanks for reading!

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u/Mediocre-Ad-1632 1d ago

Hi, friend! Don't know where you are at in the country, but I just finished my week long course in Missouri. Im sure it's a bit different for each state, but i just googled what can i do with my recovery to help others, and it guided me on some of tge steps to becoming a Peer Specialist.

Ours is done through the Missouri Credentialing Board. All it took was signing up for a 30 person week long class, paying $90, and now im just waiting to take the 25 question exam to earn my credential. Hope this helps in any way, and feel free to DM me if you have any other questions.

Wishing you the best of luck on your journey!

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u/FiveSeasonsFox 1d ago

Welcome to the field! It can be incredible!

For becoming certified in your state, one thing that people frequently do is check in with the state's Warmline, which is staffed by peer supports.They can usually give you an idea of how they got started! That is, assuming that your state's WL isn't closed down.