Peer Workforce Development Training Series

Peer support is powerful—and the peer workforce deserves opportunities to grow, connect, and thrive. Join us for a no-cost 12-session Peer Workforce Development Series designed to strengthen the skills, confidence, and professional identity of peer supporters across mental health and recovery settings.

Through interactive discussions, real-world scenarios, practical tools, and the shared expertise of Certified Peer Supporters, we’ll explore the challenges peer professionals face every day—from boundaries and documentation to communication, ethics, trauma-informed support, burnout, crisis response, and career development. Whether you’re new to peer support or an experienced professional looking to strengthen your practice, this series will help you turn lived experience into meaningful professional impact while building a sustainable future in the peer workforce.

Who It’s For
  • Ohio Certified Peer Recovery Supporters across mental health and recovery systems 
  • Particularly relevant for new and developing peer professionals 
  • An opportunity for employers and organizational leaders to support ongoing peer workforce development 
What the Series Builds
  • Stronger professional peer identity and role clarity 
  • Greater confidence translating lived experience into professional skills 
  • Practical documentation and communication skills 
  • Healthy boundaries and ethical decision-making 
  • Trauma-informed, person-centered engagement 
  • Skills for managing stress, burnout, and sustainability 
  • Stronger collaboration with clinical and interdisciplinary teams 
  • Greater confidence responding to crisis and de-escalation situations 
  • Career development and long-term professional growth 

Series Logistics

  • Format: 12 Sessions, 2nd Tuesday of the Month
  • Time: 12:00 – 1:00 PM EST
  • Location: Virtual via Zoom
  • Registration Fees: NO COST!

January

From Lived Experience to Professional Peer Support

January 12, 2027

This training explores the transition from being a person in recovery to providing professional peer support, helping participants identify how lived experience can become a meaningful and effective workforce skill. The session will address common areas of role confusion, professional boundaries, and strategies for maintaining authenticity professionally. Through discussion and real-world examples, attendees will learn how to use their recovery story with purpose, professionalism, and intention to support others in their own recovery journeys.  

By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 

  1. Describe what makes peer support a unique and valuable part of recovery-oriented services.  
  2. Identify ways to transform lived experience into a meaningful professional skill that supports the recovery journeys of others.  
  3. Recognize strategies for developing confidence, professionalism, and a strong peer identity while remaining authentic to their own recovery experience. 

February

Boundaries Without Walls: Ethical Relationships in Peer Support 

February 9, 2027

This training explores the role healthy boundaries play in creating safe, respectful, and effective relationships with both participants and coworkers within peer support settings. Participants will examine how boundaries can become blurred in helping professions, particularly in environments where shared lived experience, community overlap, and strong emotional connections are common. The session will provide high-level guidance on recognizing boundary challenges, setting clear and professional limits, and responding to difficult situations in ways that maintain trust and ethical practice. Through discussion and practical examples, attendees will strengthen their understanding of how healthy boundaries support recovery, professionalism, emotional wellness, and long-term success in peer support work. 

By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 

  1. Describe the role healthy boundaries play in building safe, respectful, and recovery-oriented relationships with participants, coworkers, and community members.  
  2. Recognize common situations where boundaries may become blurred, including dual relationships, self-disclosure, social media interactions, and community overlap.  
  3. Identify practical strategies for establishing and maintaining boundaries that support trust, recovery, emotional wellness, and professional success. 

        March

        Documentation Basics Part 1: Telling the Story of Support

        March 9, 2027

        This training introduces peer supporters to the fundamentals of effective documentation and reframes documentation as an essential part of quality, recovery-oriented care rather than simply a paperwork requirement. Attendees will explore why timely, accurate, and consistent documentation matters, including how it communicates progress, demonstrates the value of peer support services, protects the peer, participant, organization and supports continued funding and access to care. The session will address common barriers that make documentation difficult, such as a lack of training, uncertainty about what to write, fear of “sounding clinical,” and time management challenges.  

        By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 

        1. Explain why timely, accurate, and consistent documentation is an important part of effective peer support and recovery-oriented care.  
        2. Recognize common barriers to documentation and identify strategies for documenting services with greater confidence and clarity.  
        3. Describe how to capture participant engagement, strengths, and progress in ways that reflect both the impact of peer support and the individual’s recovery journey.  

        April

        Documentation Basics Part 2: Real-World Scenarios Across Peer Settings

        April 13, 2027

        This interactive follow-up training builds on foundational documentation skills by guiding peer supporters through real-world documentation scenarios across a variety of peer support settings, such as behavioral health service providers, emergency departments, mobile crisis, recovery housing, treatment centers, criminal justice, healthcare, recovery community centers, and youth/family support. Participants will examine realistic peer interactions and discuss what occurred, what information should and should not be documented, and how to translate recovery-oriented support into clear, professional notes. Through practical examples and side-by-side comparisons, attendees will strengthen their confidence in documenting participant engagement, progress, and peer interventions in ways that are objective, person-centered, and aligned with the unique role of peer support. 

        By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

        1. Recognize key details to document when capturing participant engagement, progress, and peer support interventions.  
        2. Differentiate between effective and ineffective documentation through the review of real-world peer support scenarios and sample notes.  
        3. Demonstrate increased confidence in translating peer support interactions into clear, professional, and recovery-oriented documentation. 

        May

        Communication Skills Part 1: Professional vs Personal Communication

        May 11, 2027

        This training focuses on professional communication skills that help peer supporters build credibility, maintain healthy workplace relationships, and navigate challenging situations with confidence and respect. Participants will explore the differences between personal and professional communication styles, including tone, boundaries, workplace etiquette, and choosing appropriate methods of communication across emails, texts, phone calls, and in-person interactions. The session will also address strategies for communicating effectively under stress, responding professionally during conflict or frustration, and maintaining recovery-oriented values in fast-paced or emotionally charged environments.  

        By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

        1. Differentiate between personal and professional communication styles and identify how each impacts workplace relationships and professional credibility.  
        2. Recognize appropriate communication methods and strategies for different workplace situations, including email, text, phone, and in-person interactions.  
        3. Identify approaches for communicating respectfully and effectively during stressful, emotionally charged, or challenging workplace situations while maintaining professionalism and recovery-oriented values. 

        June

        Communication Skills Part 2: Real-World Scenarios Across Peer Settings

        June 8, 2027

        Communication is one of the primary tools of peer support. Unlike many clinical roles that rely heavily on assessment or treatment planning, peer support often succeeds or fails based on how safe people feel, how respected they feel, and whether communication creates connection, dignity, and hope.  

        This training explores how communication serves as one of the most powerful tools in peer support, shaping trust, connection, and recovery engagement. Participants will strengthen skills in active listening, trauma-informed communication, emotional validation, and recovery-oriented conversations that promote hope, dignity, and empowerment. The session will examine how peers can communicate in ways that create emotional safety, avoid retraumatization, and support individuals through challenging conversations without judgment or power struggles. Through practical examples and discussion, attendees will gain strategies for building authentic, person-centered relationships that support long-term recovery and resilience.

        By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

        1. Describe how communication influences trust, engagement, hope, and recovery outcomes within peer support relationships.  
        2. Identify strategies for using active listening, emotional validation, and trauma-informed communication techniques to create emotional safety and strengthen connections with participants.  
        3. Apply recovery-oriented communication approaches to challenging conversations in ways that promote dignity, empowerment, and person-centered support while avoiding judgment, power struggles, and retraumatization. 

        July

        Ethics in Everyday Peer Support

        July 13, 2027

        This training explores the real-life ethical situations peer supporters commonly encounter while balancing authenticity, professionalism, and participant safety. Attendees will examine topics such as confidentiality, mandated reporting basics, gifts and favors, transportation boundaries, dual relationships, and navigating community overlap in recovery settings. Through practical scenarios and discussion, attendees will learn how to apply ethical decision-making strategies, recognize situations that require consultation or supervision, and respond in ways that protect both the participant and the peer relationship. 

        August

        Trauma-Informed Peer Support Across Systems

        August 10, 2027

        This training explores how trauma impacts the ways individuals think, communicate, respond, and engage across behavioral health, healthcare, recovery, and community support settings. Attendees will learn to recognize common trauma responses in both participants and themselves, while developing strategies to avoid retraumatization and create emotionally safe, recovery-oriented interactions grounded in trust, choice, and empowerment. The session will examine the role of language, power dynamics, and emotional regulation in trauma-informed peer support, with practical examples applicable across a variety of systems and environments. Through discussion and reflection, attendees will strengthen their ability to provide compassionate, person-centered support while remaining aware of their own activation, boundaries, and wellness needs.

        September

        Burnout, Compassion Fatigue & Sustainable Peer Work

        September 14, 2027

        This training explores the importance of sustainability in peer support work and the impact burnout, compassion fatigue, and emotional exhaustion can have on both personal recovery and professional effectiveness. Attendees will examine common warning signs of burnout, the emotional demands of helping work, and the role boundaries, self-awareness, and wellness planning play in maintaining long-term success in the peer workforce. The session will also discuss strategies for balancing personal recovery with professional responsibilities while continuing to provide compassionate, recovery-oriented support to others. Through discussion and reflection, attendees will gain practical tools to support resilience, maintain emotional well-being, and build a more sustainable approach to peer support work. 

        October

        Working Alongside Clinical Teams Without Losing the Peer Voice

        October 12, 2027

        This training explores the unique role of peer supporters within interdisciplinary teams and strategies for collaborating effectively while maintaining the values and perspective of peer support. Attendees will examine ways to build professional credibility, communicate confidently with clinicians and other providers, advocate for participants without becoming defensive, and clearly explain the purpose and value of the peer role across different systems of care. The session will also address navigating workplace hierarchy, maintaining recovery-oriented approaches in medical and clinical environments, and using lived experience to strengthen team-based care and participant engagement. Through discussion and reflection, attendees will gain tools to support respectful collaboration, stronger professional relationships, and a more integrated peer voice.

        November

        De-Escalation, Crisis & Staying Grounded Under Pressure

        November 9, 2027

        This training provides peer supporters with a foundational understanding of de-escalation, crisis response, and maintaining emotional regulation during high-stress situations. Attendees will explore how to recognize signs of escalation, use trauma-informed and recovery-oriented communication strategies, and remain grounded while supporting individuals experiencing emotional distress. The session will also address the scope and limitations of the peer role during crisis situations, including when and how to involve clinical, emergency, or safety staff to ensure appropriate support and safety for everyone involved. Through discussion and practical examples, attendees will strengthen their confidence in responding calmly, compassionately, and professionally under pressure.  

        December

        Supervision & Career Development for Peer Professionals

        December 14, 2027

        This training introduces peer supporters to key strategies for strengthening supervision and advancing long-term career growth within the behavioral health workforce. Attendees will explore career pathways, continuing education, and how to build a strong professional reputation that supports retention and advancement. The session will also highlight how to use supervision as a collaborative, recovery-oriented space for skill development, reflection, and leadership readiness. Emphasis is placed on sustaining meaningful careers across sectors while honoring lived experience as a foundation for growth and leadership.