Peer Specialist
A person with lived experience of mental illness and/or substance use who is trained and certified to provide services and support to others in recovery, within a professional service framework.
Full Definition
A peer specialist uses their own recovery experience as a therapeutic tool to build rapport, provide hope, and model coping strategies for individuals receiving community mental health services. In most U.S. states, peer specialists are credentialed through state-specific certification programs and are recognized as a billable Medicaid provider type. Editors must distinguish 'peer specialist' from the closely related but organisationally distinct 'peer support specialist' (which implies a more informal support function in some state regulatory schemes) and from 'certified peer recovery coach', which is more commonly used in substance use contexts. The preferred form in clinical documents is 'peer specialist'; 'peer worker' is acceptable in informal or international documents. Person-first and strengths-based language is standard in documents produced by peer specialists and should be preserved during editing.
Usage
Usage note: Confirm the specific state credentialing title before standardising across a document — titles vary by state. Distinguish from 'peer support specialist' where regulatory documents draw the distinction.
In Context
- "The agency hired two peer specialists to provide mentoring and accompaniment to clients attending their first outpatient appointments." — Program staffing plan
- "Medicaid reimbursement for peer specialist services requires documentation of the provider's state certification number." — Billing and coding manual