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Certification - Peer Mentoring - CEUs - Peer Support Jobs
Additional information about Montana state certification is available from the Board of Behavioral Health.
Click here to access forms related to CBHPSS Certification and Licensing.
To apply for certification, you must:
- Complete a 40 hour peer support education program. The program must include an exam and verification must be sent to the Board by the training provider. You can get your training from MPN.
- Submit the Supervisor Agreement and Supervision Plan.
- Attest that you have a behavioral health disorder.
- 2 years in recovery with no hospitalizations or incarcerations.
- Submit a Legal and Health History Content Form
- Provide a narrative that outlines the recovery program from the behavior health disorder.
- Complete the fingerprint/background check process (includes a fee of $27.25 to the Montana Department of Justice).
- Pay a licensure fee of $125.
Certification must be renewed yearly and expire on December 31 each year.
Renewal requirements:
- Complete 20 hours of continuing education and submit proof of completion. (May be less if certifying after July 1.)
- Maintain clinical supervision documentation.
- Attest to continued recovery (no periods of incarceration, hospitalization, or inpatient admission related to behavioral health disorder).
- Pay licensure fee.
It can be advantageous to carry individual professional liability insurance, especially if you are working independently instead of as part of an organization. The National Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC.org) offers a discounted rate for individual professional liability insurance plans. NAADAC members are able to access insurance that is offered through American Professional Agency, Inc. (Memebrship in NAADAC is $94.00 a year, with additional discounts for students and retired and military individuals.) Insurance rates start at $32 and increase depending on the amount of coverage. You can call American Professional Agency, Inc. by phone at 1-800-421-6694 x 2265 or email at mentalhealth@americanprofessional.com. NAADAC.org includes the program highlights of the CBHPSS coverage. You can also apply for the insurance right from the website. It is easy to navigate. It is a great way to invest in yourself and the recovery movement and increase your professionalism!
A person must be certified by a VA approved peer support certification not-for-profit organization or a state approved certification organization.
It is important to remember that just meeting a state’s certification training requirement without also having the state peer specialist certification is insufficient to be approved for VA. The law says must be certified by –
- a not-for-profit entity engaged in peer specialist training as having met such criteria as the Secretary shall establish for a peer specialist position; or
- a State as having satisfied relevant State requirements for a peer specialist position.
Also, if a peer specialist is certified by a state entity, if that state requires periodic recertification, the peer specialist must comply with that requirement and have documentation that they are current with their certification. Not maintaining certification could result in a change of duty assignment to non-patient care or loss of position. Montana’s Peer Network’s PS 101 course is approved by the VA and the state for certification purposes.
Peer Mentoring
Mentoring programs are used by 70% of Fortune 500 companies and about a quarter of smaller companies. Mentoring benefits the mentor, mentee, and the organization as a whole. Studies show that mentoring programs improve diversity of organizations, increase employee retention and satisfaction, and improve organizational environment. Below are just a few benefits of mentoring.
Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
MPN offers various training opportunities for people looking to become Peer Recovery Coaches or Certified Behavioral Heath Peer Support Specialists. We also offer an array of trainings eligible for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for CBHPSS.
Peer Support Jobs
Montana’s Peer Network does not necessarily endorse any jobs listed. The information is provided to help our members find positions.
If you would like us to post a job announcement, please email Andi.
Peer Support Specialists
Peer Support Specialist provides community-based peer support services that are designed to promote the recovery, empowerment, and community integration of individuals who have severe and chronic behavioral health challenges. Will facilitate opportunities for individuals receiving service to direct their own recovery and advocacy process, by teaching and supporting individuals. Promoting the knowledge of available service options and choices of natural resources in the community and help facilitate the development of a sense of wellness and self-worth.
Havre - Great Falls - Great Falls PACT - Kalispell - Helena PACT
Behavioral Health Peer Support Specialist-Certified
This flexible position functions as a core member of the Meadowlark outreach team that involves the Home Visiting Care Coordinator and the local One Health primary care provider, licensed addiction counselor, nurse care manager and, when available, other mental health providers in the primary care clinic. The Peer Support Specialist (PSS) is responsible for providing and coordinating warm handoffs and mentoring to patients or potential patient families who are expecting or have children up to age two (2), who are impacted by SUD (substance use disorder) and in need of behavioral health services. The PSS also provides experience-based input to guide the implementation of the strategic plan for recruiting participating families to the Sacred Families Program according to the community’s unique needs.
A successful Peer Support Specialist has life experience in persistent mental illness and has participated in mental health services that led to recovery or rehabilitation. This position holds a special role on the team and in the eyes of the clients, providing supportive services to clients with severe to moderate mental illness, or co-occurring disorders. We offer various settings for a Peer Support Specialist to work in to include foster care and group home settings as well as PACT/MACT team settings which is a multi-disciplinary team providing wraparound services.
Peer Support Pulse Blog
Self-Care Inspires Life
I was a new manager in a clothing retail store in the corporate world. In the beginning, I worked 50-60 hours a week. I managed 12-15 employees at any given time with scheduling, crunching numbers, training, and orientations. I sat in my office, dreaming of a way to excuse myself and walk away from the rat race. The job represented how I lived until then, sacrificing my vitality for security. I would leave work daily, pick up my daughter, and stop for my self-care, a bottle or two of wine. I would go home and pour myself a mind-numbing glass of Cabernet, help my daughter with her homework, and put her to bed. I would pass out around midnight, wake up the following day, and start the cycle again.
The Internal Pursuit of Happiness
Happiness is a broad term that many people associate with pleasure. When your craving for excitement is replenished, the boredom is filled with fun, or the hunger is satisfied. We want entertainment with relationships, activities, careers, and food. The adrenaline rush or dopamine hit that tells us, ” I am doing something that matters to me.” This is what many people call happiness, the rush of life, the drama of the story. Who would read a book or watch a movie about a character who spends all day doing mundane” things? Intellectually, this definition of happiness makes sense.
Lessons in Writing
My story is under eternal construction; another layer reveals itself as soon as I assemble it. Writing my recovery story is compelling and something I would like to present in a way that an audience would understand transformation. I immediately reverted to childhood, to one of my saddest moments, and began from there. I revisit emotional wounds that blend into this NOW moment and start composing. I realize the pattern of my life as I attempt not to retraumatize and dull the harsh edges of my traumatic childhood. I retell the same sad story I have uttered thousands of times, one that imprisoned me in unworthiness.
Our Recovery or Resiliency Story
Recovery or resiliency stories are powerful and important. They do a few things: 1. Connect us to the peers we are working with, 2. Give value to the unique perspective our lived experience brings to the table, 3. Show the importance and effectiveness of peer support. According to Montana’s Peer Network’s Peer Support Training, our recovery or resiliency story is “at the heart of the work we do in peer support. It is important that, as peer supporters, we understand our own process of recovery or resiliency. We need to be comfortable enough to speak about our own journey with others. Being able to describe our experience in a concise and hopeful manner is important. We want to tell our recovery [and resiliency] journey in a way that will inspire or provide a sense of hope to those still struggling.” A recovery or resiliency story “lets those you work with know you really do understand how difficult it can be. And how to overcome challenges. This is your greatest strength as a peer supporter.” Whether we are Behavioral Health Peer Supporters or Family Peer Supporters, it is important to share our story with a peer as it relates to them. They are the focus. Sharing our story is a useful tool to build connection and engage with your peer.
Nurturing Teen Mental Health
As a parent navigating the challenges of raising a teenager in today’s fast-paced world, I have come to appreciate the significance of prioritizing mental health. With World Teen Mental Wellness Day just around the corner on March 2, it is an opportune time to reflect on ways we can actively support our teens’ emotional well-being throughout the year. In a world where one in seven adolescents faces mental health challenges, fostering awareness and reducing stigma becomes paramount, especially given the impact of the global pandemic on our teens’ mental health.
True Leadership
Growing up in a family of overachievers and natural-born leaders, allowed me to see what positive leadership can look like. Watching my grandpa Blackie Wetzel be such a humble person, set the tone for my dad and his siblings, to also be some amazing individuals too.
It wasn’t until I owned my own business at the young age of 19, that I realized that I too had some natural skills that gave me an edge over the competition.
Kindness is Love in Action
by Nikki Russell, CBHPSSFebruary 20, 2024The ripple effect of kindness offers global and self-transformation. Acts of kindness can be as simple as a smile or as profound as a prayer. Sometimes, we know when the effect of our actions is received as kindness; other times, it encapsulates empathy and sends an energetic message that uplifts…
National Human Trafficking Awareness Month
Understanding the complexity of abuse, coercion, and control can be a complex multidimensional description. When asked,” What to look for?” within human trafficking is a hard question to answer, because human trafficking isn’t one situation to describe, it can have many faces. Human Trafficking effects all social groupings, genders, and does not discriminate when it comes to its victims. There are statistics that prove the American Indian population is in fact at a higher risk of being affected by human trafficking, murder, and becoming a missing persons case. 48.8% of Native American women have been stalked in their lifetime, and 40% of sex trafficking survivors are in fact, Native American women.
The Transformative Role of Technology in Peer Support for Behavioral Health
In recent years, the landscape of behavioral health support has undergone a significant transformation with the integration of technology into peer support programs. As society grapples with the challenges of mental health and well-being, technology has emerged as a powerful ally in fostering connection, empathy, and understanding among individuals facing behavioral health issues. This essay explores the multifaceted use of technology in peer support for behavioral health, examining its impact on accessibility, anonymity, community-building, and the overall effectiveness of mental health interventions.
Emotional Support is Enough
Over the years MPN has led several pilot projects where we provide peer support to a particular population or in a particular community. We collect data directly from the participants through small surveys after every peer support encounter. The survey is anonymous and is offered to the individuals who are receiving the services. We ask a limited number of questions to not be burdensome but not too few to be incomplete. Data collect drives the pilot project and assists us in creating the model for peer support in crisis teams, family settings, support groups, etc. We have been doing this for more than ten years. In every one of the pilot projects the data says the same thing. Emotional support is the number one benefit. Yes, other boxes get checked but emotional support is consistently the most common. In our recent Family Peer Support Project 77% of the peer support encounters were for emotional support while second was social support at 23%.