What a Certified Peer Specialist actually does

lived experience, used on purpose

Peer support vs. therapy vs. case management

You often need more than one of those three. A good peer specialist helps you get the other two, instead of competing with them.

What an hour with me looks like

• Sitting beside you while you make the call you've been dreading.
• Medicaid, SSI/SSDI, housing, and records paperwork at the kitchen table.
• Riding along to appointments and hearings where people talk over you.
• Grief work — including ambiguous grief: estrangement, addiction, distance.
• Building a plan out of the Eight Dimensions of Wellness, one dimension at a time.

Common questions

What is a Certified Peer Specialist in Georgia?

A Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) is a person with lived experience of mental health or addiction recovery who completes state-approved training and certification through Georgia's peer certification program. The CPS-MH credential is the mental health track. We are paid professionals — not volunteers — trained to use our own recovery as a working tool.

How is peer support different from therapy or case management?

A therapist treats. A case manager coordinates. A peer walks beside you. I don't diagnose, prescribe, or write treatment plans. I share my own recovery, help you find your words, sit with you in the hard parts, and do the practical work — the phone call, the form, the ride — that nobody else bills for.

Is peer support covered by Medicaid in Georgia?

Georgia Medicaid does reimburse peer support services when they're delivered through an enrolled provider agency. Independent peer work like mine is usually paid privately or on a sliding scale. If you want Medicaid-billed peer support, I'll help you find an agency that offers it — that's part of the job.

What does it cost to work with you?

$20 an hour. If you can't pay, say so plainly and we work it out. Nobody gets turned away over money. Purchases and donations on this site fund the free hours.

How do I become a Certified Peer Specialist in Georgia?

You apply through Georgia's peer certification project, document your own lived experience of mental health recovery, complete the training week, and pass the certification exam. Continuing education keeps it current. If you're thinking about it, text me — I'll tell you the honest version of what the work asks of you.

Do you work outside Glynn County?

Yes. In person I cover Brunswick, the Golden Isles, and McIntosh County. By phone and video I work with people anywhere in Georgia.