What does CPSS mean in HOSPITALS

A Certified Peer Support specialist is an individual with lived experience of mental illness who has gone through a process to obtain certification and provide direct services to others. The role of the peer support specialist is to assist individuals in learning to manage their own recovery, find ways to create positive change in their lives and establish meaningful relationships with family, friends and the community.

To be considered a peer for Certified Peer Support Specialist means that the individual has personal experience living with behavioral health issues or can identify as living with emotional distress. This allows them to share worked experiences from their own recovery journey and offer support rather than expertise or advice.

Working with a certified peer support specialist offers many advantages including providing opportunities for self-discovery, increased positive recognition, improved lifestyle management skills, enhanced sense of well-being, healthier social engagement, greater sense of control and improved critical appraisal skills.

Becoming a certified peer support specialist helps communities by offering resources that would not otherwise be available; they provide more empowerment and renewal through helping build other’s strengths; integrates real-world stories into treatment plans; increases acceptance of any diagnosis or situation due to being nonjudgmental; and they bring valuable perspectives on services delivery when working with service providers.

In order to become a certified peer support specialist you must complete an approved certification program which includes training hours as well as providing supervised practice hours under qualified supervision. Following successful completion of these requirements you must pass an exam given by the certifying body in your area.

Yes, it is required that all activities provided by CPSS’s are done under the supervision of qualified supervisors who must monitor at least 20% of their activities directly. The supervisor should also review written documentation on at least 30% of cases throughout each year’s period of certification.

Yes, there are various levels or tiers for becoming certified based on different types of qualifications such as education level (university versus non-university), years experience providing services (entry level versus advanced) and additional specialty training such as working with specific populations such as those with severe mental illness.

To maintain your certification status you must complete continuing education credits that meet standards set forth by your certifying body like the National Council for Behavioral Health Certification Board every two years. Additionally, you must keep up your fieldwork hours while having regular supervisions with qualified supervisors reviewing documentation.