Certified Peer Specialist

A typical day tends to involve one-on-one peer support sessions, accompanying clients to appointments, facilitating recovery groups, and documenting your contacts. The role is built around relationship, not authority — you're not a clinician, and that's the point. People often open up to peer specialists in ways they wouldn't with a therapist because the experiential ground is shared.

Coordination tends to happen with clinical providers, case managers, families, and the recovery community itself. Holding professional boundaries while drawing on personal experience is harder than it sounds — knowing what to share, when to refer up, and how to stay anchored in your own recovery while being present for someone else's. Supervision and self-care matter.

People who tend to thrive here are rooted in their own recovery, generous with their story, and disciplined about boundaries. If you're still in early recovery or struggle with vicarious trauma, the work can destabilize you. If you find satisfaction in walking alongside someone as they rebuild, the role can be one of the most meaningful in human services.