“Supporting Peer Services in Behavioral Health”
About This Issue
Peer support has become one of the most powerful forces in behavioral health — transforming how we understand recovery, connection, and healing. Yet integrating peers into clinical systems remains complex, requiring intentional strategy, cultural shifts, and sustained commitment.
The Spring 2026 issue of Behavioral Health News explores the evolving role of peer services across the continuum of care — from crisis response and street outreach to family support, workplace mental health, and beyond. Featuring perspectives from peer specialists, organizational leaders, researchers, advocates, and people with lived experience, contributors examine workforce development, supervision models, addressing stigma, sustainable financing, and the unique value of lived experience in reshaping behavioral health systems.
Articles in This Issue
Addiction Recovery: The Role of Peer and Alumni Support
Addressing Workplace Stigmatization of Peer Colleagues Through Institutional Courage
An Ecological Perspective on Policing and Behavioral Health
Beyond Boundaries: Oh, the Places Peer Support Can Go!
Bridging Families and Systems: Family Peer Support in Children’s Mental Health Services
Centered in Lived Experiences: Peers Reshape Engagement in California’s CARE Court
City Voices: A Peer‑Run Legacy of Connection, Recovery, and Community
From Access to Engagement: Reimagining the Consumer Experience in Behavioral Health
Healing, Growth, and Purpose: Becoming a Peer Specialist
How Psychiatric Office Support Directly Improves Mental Health Treatment Outcomes
Implementation of Peer Support Roles in Street Medicine and Outreach: Challenges and Possibilities
Implementing and Sustaining Peer Support: The Recovery Workforce Learning Collaborative (RWLC)
Integrating Peer Professionals in Complex Behavioral Health Systems
Integrating Peers in CCBHCs: The Power of Lived Experience
Measuring What Matters in Peer Support: Using Competencies and Fidelity to Strengthen the Workforce
Meeting Crisis With Connection: The Power of Peer Specialists on Mobile Crisis Teams
Overcoming Barriers to Integrating Peer Support in Mental Healthcare Systems
Peer Services in Behavioral Health: New York State Leading the Way
Peer Specialist, Heal Thyself: Recovery at Age 75 is Not Too Late
Peer Supervision: A Model for Enhanced Vocational and Emotional Support
Peer Support in Practice: Workplace Strategies and Professional Development
Peering In: A Look at Mental Health Peer Providers and How They Help People Recover
Strengthening Peer Services Through Partnership
Substance Use Disorders: Supporting Individuals in Early Recovery Through Peer-Led Services
Supporting Peer Mentoring as a Bridge to Campus Belonging
The Invisible Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE): Parental Mental Illness
The Need for More Effective Approaches to Mental Health Crises
The Peer Advocate: Role Model, Listener, and Problem Solver for Older Adults
The Power of a Peer Specialist: Sharing Lived Experience to Support Recovery
The Power of Peer Support: Walking Alongside Someone Towards Recovery
The Value of Being Seen: Acknowledging the Importance of Shared Identities and Lived Experiences
Transforming Crisis Response: Direct EMS Radio Access for Peer Support Teams in Marion County
Your Leadership Style Will Shape Your Organizational Culture
