Certified Peer Specialists
Having the support and guidance from a “certified peer specialist” (CPS) — someone who has experienced similar challenges to you and learned effective ways to cope — can often be very helpful by instilling hope for recovery, encouraging self-advocacy, advising you on peer choices and celebrating personal responsibility.
A CPS can provide you with assistance and resources while relating their own experiences and walking side-by-side with you on your journey. They’re also ideal for supporting individuals with co-occurring substance use disorders that may interfere with whole-health recovery.
Through our peer support services, we can connect you with:
- A generalist CPS, who can help you develop a goal-oriented recovery plan that might include community activities, integration, socialization, and supplemental services
- A career CPS, who can help you prepare for returning to the workforce and seeking employment through such assistance as developing your resume, completing online job applications, preparing for interviews, understanding benefits, managing health and wellness to be job-ready, and using educational resources to enhance your job and career prospects
- An older adult CPS, who can foster hope and reduce isolation for people age 60 and older by helping to create meaning in their lives through a community-based support system
Certified Peer Specialist services eligibility
Past hospitalizations
Receiving community mental health or prison psychiatric services
Encounters with a mobile crisis unit
Difficulty maintaining consistency in previous behavioral health treatment
Referrals can be made by a behavioral health professional, but we require that a physician, psychiatrist or licensed psychologist review and recommend our peer support services on behalf of someone. If you want to refer someone, we encourage you to review our admission criteria and instructions for completing our referral form first.
To learn more, contact our Main Office at 610-277-4600 or our Abington-Area Services Office at 267-818-2220.