Georgia Nursing - April 2021

April, May, June 2021 Georgia Nursing • Page 11
Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies: Get to know
Georgia’s Certified Peer Specialists
Georgians for a Healthy Future
The COVID-19 pandemic has damaged the mental
health of many Georgians and exacerbated the use
of alcohol and drugs. Financial stressors, parenting
difficulties, and unwavering uncertainty have
dramatically increased depression, stress, and substance
use among Georgians. Some will seek supports
and services to manage their health, which may be
provided by certified peer specialists.
Certified peer specialists (CPS) support and educate
individuals and families while they navigate mental
health and/or substance use treatment and recovery.
CPS have played a vital role in Georgia’s mental health
and substance use recovery systems for over 20 years.
CPS are unique among health professionals because
they have lived experience with substance use and/or
mental health recovery. Lived experience means that
they are in recovery themselves, are a caregiver or
partner to a loved one in recovery, or have other direct
experience.
CPS’ lived experiences are critical in their work
to help others identify and set recovery goals for
themselves. Their lived experiences and peer specialist
training allow them to serve as trusted mentors to
others who are seeking recovery.
Depending on their particular experiences and
training, CPS are trained and certified to address
mental health, substance use disorders, or both with
youth, adults, parents, or a combination of these
groups.
For this article, GHF interviewed our partners at
the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse (GCSA) to
learn more about Georgia’s leadership in the area
of peer supports, CPS work in Georgia, and how the
CPS model addresses substance use disorders through
innovative partnerships and programs.
Certified peer specialists working in Georgia
Georgia’s CPS training was the first in the nation
and in 1999, Georgia became the first state to receive
Medicaid reimbursement for peer support services
delivered by CPS. As of 2019, there are over 3,000 CPS
working in/certified to work in Georgia.
The Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network
(GMHCN) began a Medicaid-billable Certified Peer
Specialist in Mental Health (CPS-MH) training program
in 2001. GMHCN trains CPSs “to assist others in skillbuilding,
problem-solving, setting up and maintaining
self-help mutual support groups, and building selfdirected
recovery tools.”
GCSA developed the Certified Addiction Recovery
Empowerment Specialist (CARES) Academy to promote
long-term recovery for substance use disorders using
the CPS-MH model. Nearly all of GCSA’s staff are
CARES certified, and many have dual certifications in
both mental health and substance use recovery.
GCSA has trained more than 750 CARES to date.
CARES work in substance use treatment centers,
accountability courts, jails, hospitals, and other diverse
settings across the state. GCSA places some CARES
in hospital emergenvcy departments to provide peer
support to individuals who visit for any substance use
related reason (ex: drunk driving accident, fall/cut in
the person’s home due to intoxication, overdose).
Other CARES serve mothers experiencing substance
use challenges during pregnancy and post-birth at
Northeast Georgia Hospital System’s Neonatal Intensive
Care Units.
CARES peers also operate GCSA’s Warm Line
through which they provide free telephone and text
support to individuals struggling with substance use
(or who have a loved one who is struggling). Since
the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing
number of calls and texts have come into the Warm
Line, demonstrating an increased need for support
and connection among people with substance use
challenges. CARES are also hosting twice daily virtual
all recovery meetings at 10 am and 7 pm to provide an
additional layer of support, and GCSA recently added
a Spanish-language recovery meeting to the schedule.
Want to be a certified peer specialist?
For substance use recovery: Visit gasubstanceabuse.
org. Click the Training tab to learn more about the
CARES program.
For mental health recovery: Visit gmhcn.org. Click
the CPS tab to learn more.
Contact: Michelle Conde, Communications & Special
Projects Manager mconde@healthyfuturega.org
References
Georgians for a Healthy Future. Healthy Minds, Healthy
Bodies: Get to know Georgia’s Certified Peer Specialists.
Accessible at healthyfuturega.org
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Mental Health,
Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19
Pandemic — United States, June 24–30, 2020.
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