Certified Peer Specialist (CPS)

At Central, we offer peer support services to individuals who qualify and live within the boundaries of Central and Eastern Montgomery County. We provide CPS services to individuals with many different needs that can benefit from extra support and guidance. A CPS offers assistance and resources and are able to relate their experiences while walking side by side with people that are on a path of recovery. In addition, CPS’s are able to support individuals with co-occurring substance use disorders that may interfere with whole health recovery.

The CPS Generalist offers individuals support with a general goal oriented recovery plan. This may include maintaining ongoing recovery, community activities, integration, socialization, or extending guidance to someone towards the direction of other services. The CPS Generalist instills hope for recovery, encourages self-advocacy, peer choice and personal responsibility.

Our CPS Career Specialists support individuals preparing to return to the workforce and seek employment.  This includes support for building a resume, completing online applications, preparing for an interview connecting the applicant with current employers who are hiring, and understanding how future employment will affect current benefits. The career peer specialist can support the individual with managing their health and wellness to secure and maintain employment. They can discuss the advantages to gaining a job and how to utilize educational resources to further enhance career choices.

The Older Adult CPS provides community based supports for Older Adults (60 years and older) to help create a network of natural supports and to decrease isolation.  This CPS service can foster hope for an older adult by helping to create meaning in a person’s life.

Referrals

Individuals eligible for peer support services have a serious mental illness with moderate to severe functional impairments in those areas supported by the team as indicated above. Their treatment history will indicate past hospitalization(s), past encounters with the mobile crisis unit, a history of attending community mental health or prison psychiatric services, and/or difficulty maintaining consistency in previous behavioral health treatment. Referrals can be initiated by another behavioral health professional, however, a physician, psychiatrist or licensed psychologist will review and recommend this service for the individual.

https://www.centralbh.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Process-for-Completing-CPS-Referral-Form.pdf

https://www.centralbh.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/CPS-Referral.pdf

Location

Central’s Main Office

Abington Area Services