Abstract
The opioid crisis is an ever-growing issue nationwide. The role of peer support specialists has received widespread acceptance in the substance use and behavioral health spheres. However, there is a lack of standardization on the training required for peer support specialists to function as competent members of integrated behavioral health teams. We conducted qualitative focus groups with 14 practicing certified peer support specialists to determine their perceived educational needs. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data and six themes emerged: mental health and suicide prevention training, diversity, equity, and inclusion training, counseling skills training, family systems approach to care training, professionalism training, and taking care of self – mind, soul, and body training. To improve peer support specialists’ confidence in their ability to competently perform their jobs, important topics need to be incorporated into their educational training and preparation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Almeida, M., Day, A., Smith, B., Bianco, C., & Fortuna, K. (2020). Actionable items to address challenges incorporating peer support specialists within an integrated mental health and substance use disorder system: Co-Designed qualitative study. Journal of Participatory Medicine, 12(4), e17053. https://doi.org/10.2196/17053.
Bassuk, E. L., Hanson, J., Greene, R. N., Richard, M., & Laudet, A. (2016). Peer-delivered recovery support services for addictions in the United States: A systematic review. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 63, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2016.01.003.
Burton, E., Farrier, K., Hill, K. D., Codde, J., Airey, P., & Hill, A. M. (2018). Effectiveness of peers in delivering programs or motivating older people to increase their participation in physical activity: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sports Sciences, 36(6), 666–678. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2017.1329549.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022). U.S. overdose deaths in 2021 increased half as much as in 2020 – but are still up 15%. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/202205.htm.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2017). Qualitative inquiry and research design (4th ed.). Sage Publications Inc.
Fortuna, K. L., Brooks, J. M., Myers, A., Sivakumar, B., & Lebby, S. R. (2022). Effectiveness of a digital peer support training program designed for rapid uptake among peer support specialists pilot study. The Psychiatric Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-022-09997-0. Advance online publication.
Gondré-Lewis, M. C., Abijo, T., & Gondré-Lewis, T. A. (2022). The opioid epidemic: A crisis disproportionately impacting Black Americans and urban communities. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-022-01384-6Advance online publication.
Guo, R., Vaughan, D. T., Rojo, A., & Huang, Y. H. (2022). Sleep-mediated regulation of reward circuits: Implications in substance use disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology: Official Publication Of The American College Of Neuropsychopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-022-01356-8Advance online publication.
Hamera E. (2014). Motivational interviewing. In Wheeler, K. (Ed). Psychotherapy for the advanced practice psychiatric nurse: A how-to guide for evidence-based practice (2nd ed., pp. 299–312). Springer.
Hennink, M., & Kaiser, B. N. (2022). Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical tests. Social science & medicine (1982), 292, 114523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114523.
Hettema, J., Steele, J., & Miller, W. R. (2005). Motivational interviewing. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, 91–111. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.143833
James, K., & Jordan, A. (2018). The opioid crisis in black communities. The Journal of Law Medicine & Ethics, 46(2), 404–421. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073110518782949.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Lipari, R. N., & Van Horn, S. L. (2017). Children living with parents who have a substance use disorder. The CBHSQ Report (pp. 1–7). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US).
Lippold, K. M., Jones, C. M., Olsen, E. O., & Giroir, B. P. (2019). Racial/Ethnic and age group differences in opioid and synthetic opioid-involved overdose deaths among adults aged ≥ 18 years in metropolitan areas - United States, 2015–2017. MMWR Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 68(43), 967–973. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6843a3.
Maina, G., Ogenchuk, M., & Gaudet, S. (2021). Living with parents with problematic substance use: Impacts and turning points. Public Health Nursing (Boston, Mass.), 38(5), 730–737. https://doi.org/10.1111/phn.12888
McCarthy, S., Chinman, M., Mitchell-Miland, C., Schutt, R. K., Zickmund, S., & Ellison, M. L. (2019). Peer specialists: Exploring the influence of program structure on their emerging role. Psychological Services, 16(3), 445–455. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000250.
Mental Health America (2022). How to become a peer support specialist. https://www.mhanational.org/how-become-peer-support-specialist.
National Institutes on Drug Abuse (2020). Common comorbidities with substance use disorders research report. https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/common-comorbidities-substance-use-disorders/part-1-connection-between-substance-use-disorders-mental-illness.
Shepardson, R. L., Johnson, E. M., Possemato, K., Arigo, D., & Funderburk, J. S. (2019). Perceived barriers and facilitators to implementation of peer support in Veterans Health Administration primary care-mental health integration settings. Psychological Services, 16(3), 433–444. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000242.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2022). Peers – wo are peers. https://www.samhsa.gov/brss-tacs/recovery-support-tools/peers.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2019). Issue brief: Integrating peer support workers in interdisciplinary care teams. https://c4innovates.com/brsstacs/BRSS-TACS-Integrating-Peer-Support-Workers.pdf.
Tate, M. C., Roy, A., Pinchinat, M., Lund, E., Fox, J. B., Cottrill, S., Vaccaro, A., & Stein, L. (2022). Impact of being a peer recovery specialist on work and personal life: Implications for training and supervision. Community Mental Health Journal, 58(1), 193–204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-021-00811-y.
Valentino, R. J., & Volkow, N. D. (2020). Drugs, sleep, and the addicted brain. Neuropsychopharmacology: Official Publication Of The American College Of Neuropsychopharmacology, 45(1), 3–5. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-019-0465-x.
Witte, T., Mumba, M. N., Jaiswal, J., Evans, T., Z., & Mugoya, G. T. (Published, 2023). Pedagogical considerations for enhancing peer support specialist training in an Online University Environment. Journal of Mental Health Training Education and Practice, 18(4), 338–346. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMHTEP-07-2022-0053.
Xia, W., Li, H., Liang, T., Luo, Y., Ho, L., Cheung, A. T., & Song, P. (2022). Structured online training for university students to deliver peer-led addiction counselling for young drug abusers in China: Effect on improving knowledge, attitude, confidence, and skills. Patient Education and Counseling, 105(4), 1009–1017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2021.07.038.
Funding
The work described in this paper was made possible by funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Grant #: T26HP39458 and M01HP42451. The views expressed in this work are those of the authors and do not represent the HRSA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflict to declare related to this work and have all significantly contributed to the conduct of the research, analyses, and development of the manuscript.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mumba, M.N., Sweeney, A., Jennings, C. et al. Perceived Educational Needs of Substance Use Peer Support Specialists: A Qualitative Study. Community Ment Health J 60, 160–168 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-023-01176-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-023-01176-0