The Health Education Council (HEC) is a CalMHSA-approved vendor of the Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist training.
ABOUT
The Health Education Council (HEC) is a CalMHSA-approved vendor of the Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist training.
A peer support specialist is someone who works with individuals who are in recovery to foster connectedness and optimism. The primary role is to interact with clients in an accepting, understanding, and validating way to facilitate their recovery.
A peer support specialist is an adult (18-year-old or older) person who has self-identified as having lived experience with the recovery process from mental illness, substance use disorder, or other significant traumas. You can also be a Peer Support Specialist if you experienced a close family member who has undergone a recovery process and now you want to support others through the same.
A peer support specialist assists clients in developing recovery objectives, practicing self-empowerment tactics, and taking meaningful actions toward establishing fulfilling, self-determined lives – and do so by sharing their own experiences and practical counsel.
This program calls for applicants who have lived experience dealing with vulnerabilities and disparities such as, but not limited, to these: being an immigrant, LGBTQ+, trauma victim, and other trauma-related conditions.
LENGTH OF COURSE
This 80-hour course is offered in two-week cohorts.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
This 80-hour program will meet the following learning outcomes to become a Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist:
- Support the ongoing provision of services for individuals experiencing mental health care needs, substance use disorder needs, or both, by certified peer support specialists.
- Support coaching, linkage, and skill-building of individuals with mental health needs, substance use disorder needs, or both, to families and significant support persons.
- Increase family support by building on the strengths of families and helping them achieve a better understanding of mental illness to help individuals achieve desired outcomes.
- Support collaboration with others providing care or support to the individuals or family.
- Assist parents, families, and individuals with developing coping mechanisms and problem-solving skills to help individuals achieve desired outcomes.
- Promote skill building for individuals in the areas of socialization, recovery, self-sufficiency, self-advocacy, development of natural supports and maintenance of skills learned in other support services.
- Encourage employment under the peer support specialist certification to reflect the culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental health service experiences, and substance use disorder experiences of the individuals peer support specialists serve.
- Encourage a deeper appreciation of the core competencies of peer workers, the core competencies being recovery-oriented, person-centered voluntary, relationship-focused, and trauma-informed.
TRAINING LANGUAGES
HEC offers its training in English.
TRAINING MODALITY
HEC's program is offered in-person at HEC's office in South Sacramento. Custom training is available for organizations with 10 or more participants and can be conducted online, in-person or hybrid.
TRAINING DATES
October 21-25 and November 4-8; each day will require attendance from 8:30am-5:00pm
TRAINING ELIGIBILITY
In order to be eligible for this course, an individual must:
- be an adult (18-year-old or older) person.
- self-identify as having lived experience with the recovery process from mental illness, substance use disorder, or other significant trauma or have experienced a close family member who has undergone a recovery process.
- want to support others through the same experience.
- have a high school diploma or equivalent
TRAINING REGISTRATION
Individuals interested in registering for HEC's training program should complete the registration form below. After a form is received, the individual will be asked to submit proof of age and high school graduation.
