What is a CEU?
How many CEUs do I need?

A Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is a unit of credit equal to one hour of participation time in an approved training event that provides knowledge or skills to support a peer specialist and others in their daily work. You will need 20 CEUs for a 24mth (2 year) period for Texas Peer Certifications.

Peer Practice: Crisis Support

This one-day training will assist Peer Specialist to meet the growing need for a more compassionate response to crises in our communities. Peer Specialists will learn how to use existing Peer Support practices to better support people in crisis, understand the relationship between trauma and crisis, and to cultivate wellness practices for self-care to prevent burnout. This is a one-day training that includes information, activities and group discussion. This training was created for Peer Specialists working in the field.

6 CEUs

Peer Practice: Diversity & Inclusion

This is a one-day, virtual training that offers Peer Specialists an opportunity to understand the importance of diversity, explore how biases – organizational and individual – can create barriers for individuals seeking services, and to build skills around inclusion practice for one on one work and support groups. Finally, the training also invites discussion around diversity in recovery and how Peer Specialists can work to ensure that recovery is a space where everyone can find a sense of belonging.

The training is comprised of five modules that encompass knowledge, reflection and interactive activities. The activities are designed to cultivate self-awareness, engage in meaningful dialogue and to practice new skills. This training is designed for Peer Specialists who are working in the field of Peer Support.

6 CEUs

The Practice of Peer Leadership: An Introduction

This three-hour training was designed for Peers to explore what leadership is, build on the strengths and skills of lived experience, and discover ways to step into their personal power in order to begin to fully embody leadership. The training also introduces some basic leadership practices that will support Peers in making an impact in their work.

This training is appropriate for anyone who identifies as having lived experience with mental health, substance use, trauma and other hardships and would like to use their lived experience as a foundation for leadership.

3 CEUs

Peer Practice: Telling Our Stories

Peer Practice: Telling Our Stories is a one-day, virtual training that offers Peer Specialists an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the impact and power of sharing recovery stories, ensure that they are aligned with Peer Values in sharing their story, further develop their own recovery story, practice sharing their story in the context of individual work, and to refine their practice of utilizing snippets with individuals and in group settings.

Peer Practice: Telling Our Stories was developed for Peer Specialists who have been certified in states that offer certification, and working for a minimum of six months.

The training is comprised of seven modules that are largely experiential, with several activities. The activities are a combination of reflection and journaling, to focus on renewing the Peer Specialists’ current recovery story, and partner work to practice sharing and receive feedback. Participants work with the same partner throughout the day, to create an experience similar to working with those they serve.

6 CEUs

Community Reentry

This 2 day training provides a grounding in the knowledge, skills and tools needed by a Certified Peer Specialist to effectively support a peer’s transition from a community of confinement and incarceration to a community of choice.

13 CEUs

Co-Occurring Challenges

This training is designed for both Mental Health Peer Specialists and Peer Recovery Support Specialists to give an overview of how to provide peer support to people experiencing substance use and mental health challenges.

The Co-Occurring Challenges curriculum has been developed as a resource for experienced peer specialists from the substance use and mental health recovery support communities.

14 CEUs

Peer Specialist Whole Health & Resiliency

This 2 day training offers a foundation in Whole Health concepts and planning tools for Certified Peer Specialists to use as part of their daily work.

A report issued in 2007 by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) stated that individuals served by public mental health services live an average of 25 years less than the general population.

In Texas, this disparity is 29 years. This 2 day PSWHR training teaches Certified Peer Specialists the relationship between physical and mental health and the importance of treating the whole person, not just their mental health. Peer specialists learn how to help consumers to set and achieve health goals and how to help them build resiliency by practicing the “relaxation response,” an easy to learn exercise that help individuals effectively deal with stress.

12 CEUs

Texas Trauma-Informed Peer Support

This 2 day training is designed to educate peer specialists on the impact of trauma across the lifespan and to support those they are working with to address trauma in an intentional and informed manner.

To be eligible for the training, a Certified Peer Specialist must have been employed or volunteering as a peer specialist at least half time for a minimum of six months.

Development of this training was a joint effort of Via Hope and the National Council for Behavioral Health.

The Council is a non-profit organization representing more than 2,000 community mental health and addiction organizations that provide a broad continuum of services to meet the healthcare needs of individuals living with mental illnesses and addictions.

14 CEUs

Group Facilitation

This training was developed for anyone who currently facilitates peer-led groups or those who would like to facilitate peer-led groups (i.e. groups where the facilitator has shared lived experience with the group members). Examples are Mental Health Peer Specialists, Certified Family Partners, Recovery Support Specialists, Reentry Peer Specialists and peers working in other fields where group support is utilized. This training uses healing-centered group facilitation techniques and aims to help people build and refine their skills as a facilitator through reflection, practice, and relationship-building.

This three-day training provides participants with information and an opportunity to practice around the core components of effective group facilitation: preparation, facilitation, and debriefing/feedback. Throughout the training, many of the activities used to build concrete knowledge and skills are also tools that facilitators can use in their own groups.

The curriculum is designed to be highly interactive. Activities include individual and small group exercises, discussions, and objective knowledge, attitude, and skills building.

12 CEUs

Healing Centered Peer Support (Trauma Responsive)

This is a 3-day training, which provides participants with a foundation for understanding what trauma is, how trauma impacts people and communities, what healing looks like, and how peers can use these concepts and their own lived experience to best support people who are navigating trauma and/or exploring healing. Throughout the training, participants will have opportunities to explore and define their own story of trauma and healing through various activities and structured reflection.

Although Via Hope has many programs that focus on the mental health peer workforce, Introduction to Healing-Centered Peer Support: An Approach for Peers Working with Trauma is appropriate for anyone working or volunteering (or interested in working or volunteering) as a peer supporter. As long as they have shared lived experience with the people they will support, eligible participants can work in a variety of fields: adult and children’s mental health, substance use, primary medical care, veteran’s support, family support (including parental mental health), etc.

19 CEUs

Addressing Secondary Trauma: Building a Foundation for Wellness and Sustainability

This a one-day virtual training, designed to support anyone encountering difficult and potentially emotionally distressing situations in their work. Participants will learn about trauma exposure and its psychological and emotional impact; identify and learn how to utilize tools -including self-compassion – as a means of support; and build strategies for intentionally cultivating personal wellness for resilience and sustainability. Participants will also learn how to debrief and hold space with their colleagues. This training is a blend of education, activities, reflection, and discussion.

6 CEUs

Ethical Considerations for Peer Specialists

This training provides opportunity for peer specialists to deepen their understanding of ethical decision-making through the use of scenarios, discussion, and guidance from experienced peer specialist trainers. This training satisfies the Ethics requirement for recertification of Texas peer specialists (MHPS & RSPS).

3 CEUs

OTHER TRAININGS

Peer Specialist Supervisor Certification Training.

This 2-day training meets the requirements for people seeking the Peer Specialist Supervisor Certification under Texas Administrative Code, Rules 354.3105 and 354.3163. The certification qualification is necessary for organizations planning to bill Medicaid using the newly established Peer Services billing code. This workshop provides basic information that will benefit anyone providing direct supervision to Peer Specialists.

This interactive training is comprised of didactic content, video presentations from a variety of subject matter experts, participatory exercises, and workplace scenarios. Modules are focused on the following topics: Peer Foundation, Supervisor Foundation, Non-Peer Specialists Supervising Peers, Group Supervision, and Supervision Scenarios.

Upon completion of the training, and passing of an online knowledge assessment, participants will be required to apply directly to Texas Certification Board for credentialing.

WRAP Facilitator Training.

This training is appropriate for anyone who would like to lead WRAP groups, work with others to develop their own WRAP and give presentations on mental health recovery related issues to groups or organizations. Attendees are expected to have a solid working knowledge of WRAP and share their experiential knowledge of how WRAP can work. The WRAP Facilitator training provides an experiential learning environment based on mutuality. Participants in this training will be asked to participate in interactive learning activities and demonstrate their own experience with WRAP.

Upon completion of the training, and passing of an online knowledge assessment, participants will be required to apply directly to Texas Certification Board for credentialing.