Article Urges Supervisors to Safeguard Peer Support Values at Work

Washington, DC (July 13, 2021) — The National Association of Peer Supporters (N.A.P.S.) announces the publication of “National Practice Guidelines for Peer Support Specialists and Supervisors” in Psychiatric Services, a journal of the American Psychiatric Association.

The article reinforces the crucial role of supervisors in protecting the integrity of peer support services, particularly as a projected 1 million additional peer support specialists are needed to meet the increased demand for behavioral health services in the United States. The authors point to N.A.P.S. guidelines that were developed specifically to help peer supervisors integrate twelve core peer support values into their professional practices. The National Practice Guidelines for Peer Specialists and Supervisors offers not only new ideas but also concrete, practical guidance that supervisors can apply in their day-to-day work.

N.A.P.S. Board President Dana Foglesong said, “Rapid growth of the peer support workforce carries a risk that peer support values will be undermined in treatment settings that don’t have an ingrained recovery orientation. Supervisors play a critical role in helping peer support specialists uphold these values, and our hope is that the National Practice Guidelines for Peer Specialists and Supervisors will better equip supervisors to preserve the quality and values of peer support services.”

The article “National Practice Guidelines for Peer Support Specialists and Supervisors” can be found in Psychiatric Services at https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.202000901

To read the National Practice Guidelines for Peer Specialists and Supervisors, see https://www.peersupportworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/National-Practice-Guidelines-for-Peer-Specialists-and-Supervisors.pdf

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National Association of Peer Supporters is the professional association for the peer support workforce in the United States. A nonprofit membership association founded in 2004, N.A.P.S. aims to grow the peer support profession by promoting the inclusion of peer specialists in health care and community systems.