Explores the concept of lived experience, encourages participants to share their stories, and offers additional resources on storytelling.

Examines various definitions of recovery, explores multiple pathways to recovery, engages participants in activities to compare and contrast recovery scenarios, and provides additional resources on recovery and multiple pathways.

Covers the definition of peer support, explores the principles outlined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, emphasizes self-determination and dignity of risk, engages participants in scenario-based activities, and provides additional resources to apply peer support principles in practice.

Discusses the core components of a peer professional’s role, outlines common tasks associated with peer professionals, clarifies what peer support is not, highlights the role of peer professionals as change agents, and provides additional resources on advocating with one’s organization.

Explores the common ethical requirements for peer professionals, delves into ethical decision-making in the context of peer support, engages participants in ethical scenario activities, and provides a handout on the ethical decision-making triangle.

Provides an understanding of trauma and its definition, examines individual and collective experiences of trauma, explores trauma responses and the subjective nature of trauma, discusses post-traumatic growth, emphasizes trauma responsiveness in peer support, identifies what truly helps in trauma-informed peer support, offers additional resources on trauma and trauma-informed support, and engages participants in an activity on how peer professionals may unintentionally reinforce trauma.

Covers the concept of holding space, explores listening as an integral part of holding space and common listening roadblocks, emphasizes unconditional support in holding space, and provides additional resources on effective listening and holding space techniques.

Focuses on the communication strategy of validation and engages participants in scenarios to practice validation techniques.

Explores the art of asking questions as a peer-based communication skill, highlights the importance of being careful with “why” questions, warns against leading questions, and provides additional resources for effective questioning techniques.

Covers the importance of informed consent as a peer-based communication skill, addresses informed consent in practice with a focus on mandatory reporting and considerations for peer professionals, discusses the duty to warn as another reporting law, explores the use of the Ask-Share-Ask model in informed consent, engages participants in an activity on skillful sharing of information, and provides additional resources on informed consent and mandatory reporting.

Explores the understanding of the crisis and its relation to peer support practice, clarifies the limits of peer professionals in crisis situations, and provides additional resources on crisis and peer support to ensure participants know they are not alone in handling crisis scenarios.

Focuses on self-care practices for peer professionals, addresses compassion fatigue and its warning signs, explores options for building an easy professional self-care practice, takes a nuanced look at self-care, provides additional considerations for self-care and wellness, and engages participants in an activity to put self-care into action.

Provides an overview of organizations in state infrastructure for peer services, offers an overview of the certification process for family partners, mental health peer specialists, and recovery support peer specialists, as well as reentry peer specialists.