About Peer Recovery Support

A strength-based, person-centered approach to supporting others in recovery, and those struggling with addiction and mental health.

Peer Recovery Support

What is it anyway?

The Value of Peer Support

Increased Social Support and Social Functioning

(Kurtz 1990; Nelson, Ochocka, Janzen, & Trainor, 2006; Ochoka et al., 2006; Trainor, Shepherd, Boydell, Leff, & Crawford, 1997; Yanos, Primavera, & Knight, 2001)

Reduced Hospital Admission Rates and Longer Community Tenure

(Chinman, Weingarten, Stayner, & Davidson, 2001; Davidson, et al., 2012; Forchuk, Martin, Chan, & Jenson, 2005; Min, Whitecraft, Rothbard, Salzer, 2007)

Incrased Sense of Hope and Inspiration

(Davidson, et al., 2006; Ratzlaff, McDiarmid, Marty, & Rapp, 2006)

Decreased Substance Use and Depression

(Davidson, et al., 2012)

Videos on Peer Support

Play Video

Firsthand Stories

Hear firsthand experiences from participants at Foundation for Recovery and learn more about our peer support program.

Play Video

What is Peer Support

A short explainer video from PsychHub. This video does gives a broad overview of how peer support helps people new in recovery and integrates with clinical care.

Play Video

McShin Foundation

In this short episode, our friends at the McShin Foundation explain more about the value of peer recovery support and how they their recovery community organization partners with the local jail.

Become a Peer Recovery Support Specialist

Join the growing workforce of Peer Recovery Support Specialists in Nevada. Foundation for Recovery is one of two approved training institutions in the Nevada, providing the required 46-hour Peer Recovery Support Specialist training in person and online. Search and register for upcoming PRSS Trainings on Connect for Recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions

Not yet. You’ll need to then meet several requirements before you can sit for the state exam and apply for state certification.

Congratulations! You’ve joined a growing workforce of Peer Recovery Support Specialists in Nevada and the Nation.

You can now work in most organizations as a Certified Peer Recovery Support Specialist (CPRSS). You’ll need to maintain your state certification by obtaining continuing education credits. You can find online, self-paced, and live trainings on Connect for Recovery, Nevada’s social platform for people in recovery.

As a charitable nonprofit powered by local communities of recovery, Foundation for Recovery provides the 46-hour peer recovery support specialist training at no cost to attendees.

Peer Recovery Support is also provided cost free. We never want ability to pay for supportive services to be a barrier to someone seeking assistance.

There is a fee, collected by the Nevada Certification Board, for obtaining state certification.

1) Lived Experience: A certified peer recovery and support specialist shall be in recovery for at least two years prior to certification. Recovery is characterized by continual growth and improvement in one’s health and wellness that may involve setbacks. Because setbacks are a natural part of life, resilience becomes a key component of recovery.

2) Peer Recovery and Support Work Experience: 500 hours of volunteer or paid work experience specific to the domains below.

3) Education and Training: A high school diploma or jurisdictionally certified high school equivalency is required.

  • Additionally, 46 hours of NCB approved training* is required, specific to the Peer Recovery and Support domains with:
      • 10 hours in the domain of Advocacy
      • 10 hours the domain of Mentoring/Education
      • 10 hours in the domain of Recovery/Wellness Support
      •  16 hours in the domain of Ethical Responsibility*At present, the NCB will accept only the foundational peer recovery and support specialist training provided by the Foundation for Recovery or the Center for the Application of Substance Abuse Technologies (CASAT).

4) Non-Clinical Supervision: 25 hours of supervision specific to the domains is required. Supervision must be provided by an organization’s documented and qualified supervisory staff per job description. The NCB PR Certification Board must approve all supervisors.

5) Examination: All applicants are required to pass the IC&RC Peer Recovery Examination.IC&RC has developed a Candidate Guide for professionals preparing for the Peer Recovery Examination.

6) Code of Ethics: The applicant must agree to adhere to the Nevada Certification Board’s peer recovery specific code of ethics.

7) Cost of Certification (Inclusive of the IC&RC examination):

  • Initial Certification – $165 (online, using the form below or by check, mail to Nevada Certification Board PO Box 13122 Reno, NV 89507
  • Renewal – $100 (20 hours of continuing education earned every two years, including six hours in ethics.)
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8) Re-certification: 20 hours of continuing education earned every two years, including six hours in ethics.

As Nevada’s statewide Recovery Community Organization, we offer the 46-hour peer recovery support specialist training and will prepare you for state certification.

We offer the training both online in a blended format, meaning part of the training is delivered live with an instructor over video conferencing software like Zoom, and the other part of the training is delivered in an online classroom through Connect for Recovery.

We also host several in-person trainings throughout the year.

Upon completion of the training, you will be issued a certificate and can begin volunteering or working as a Peer Recovery Support Specialist to obtain hours towards your state certification. Completing the training alone does not mean you are a certified peer recovery support specialist.

We offer plenty of volunteer and internship options for you to obtain your 500 practice hours after you’ve completed the 46-hour peer recovery support specialist training.

Foundation for Recovery offers plenty of volunteer and internship options for you to work towards your 500 hours of experience required to obtain state certification. Contact us at info@forrecovery.org to learn more.

Need support now?

Submit a request for peer recovery support and we’ll match you with your recovery support specialist and schedule your first session.

Please contact our Peer Recovery Support Warmline at 1-800-509-7762 if you need immediate assistance.

Don't want to wait?

Use the chat icon in the lower right-hand side of this page to chat directly with a peer recovery support specialist right now.

Contact Us.

Recovery Friendly Workplace Ambassador

Southern Nevada Recovery Community Center

Our Activities Calendar

  • One-on-one Peer Recovery Support
  • Mutual Aid Meetings & Support Groups
  • Women’s Empowerment Workshops
  • GED or High school Equivalent Preparation
  • Overdose Prevention Training and naloxone (Narcan) Access Point
  • Computers
  • Library
  • Bus Passes
  • Recycled Clothing (Caring Closet)
  • Peer Recovery Support Specialist Training
  • Lounge Area
  • Classrooms & meeting spaces

The Southern Nevada Recovery Community Center offers several spaces open to the groups and organizations to rent for meetings, support groups, trainings, and events. Learn more or contact therooms@forrecovery.org for more information.

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Person-Directed Recovery

Person-centered recovery is directed, as much as possible by the person – including decisions about who should be included in the process.  The planning identifies just a few small, but meaningful, short-term changes that the individual can focus on helping to reduce some of the barriers or challenges moving forward.  Person centered care should be central to all recovery frameworks.

*Adapted from Person-Centered Care and Planning by Neal Adams, MD, MPH, and Diane Grieder, M.Ed.