What is a CPSP?
Certified Peer Support Provider (CPSP) is a professional certification for peer support workers.
CPSPs identify with lived experience of mental health challenges, substance use challenges, and/or trauma, and they draw upon these life experiences to connect with folks seeking support in a challenging time of their own.
The CPSP Certification process consists of 120 hours of peer support training, including the 40-hour Intentional Peer Support Core training and the 80-hour Vermont Certified Peer Support Provider training. The process also includes verifying peer support work hours to demonstrate work experience. All CPSPs must sign and agree to follow the CPSP Code of Ethics.
Once training requirements, eligibility requirements, and an exam are completed, the CPSP licensure is validated through Vermont's Office of Professional Regulation (OPR). Having a CPSP license provides the option to bill Medicaid for the peer support services within designated and specialized services agencies.
CPSPs can be employed in a variety of settings, including a drop-in center, a mental health urgent care, a mobile crisis team, a peer-run respite, or many other mental health service settings! The CPSP training is designed to provide you with a foundational understanding of the relational skills, scope of practice, and ethics of peer support work.
While employers may choose to designate CPSP certification as a job requirement for a peer support role, becoming a CPSP is not a statewide requirement for Vermont’s peer support workers. Some service agencies may choose not to require CPSP certification for their peer support roles.
For those considering certification, becoming a CPSP is one way of demonstrating expertise in peer support to a current or future employer, but it is not the only way. The CPSP professional certification supports the fidelity of peer support work, the collective and shared understanding of CPSP ethical principles, and provides VT’s peer workforce with quality training and continuing education — but it is not intended to be the only way of entry into the peer support profession.
Ready to get started? Click below to explore the paths to certification!
Vermont’s CPSP certification and training development was led by Wilda L. White Consulting. This development project spanned 2022-2025. Stakeholder sessions were held throughout the process to guide the project. To learn more about the extensive process of developing and implementing CPSP in Vermont, click here to read the report and recommendations resulting from these stakeholder sessions. To access the recordings and slide decks from stakeholder sessions, click here.
“ As peer support in mental health grows, we must be mindful of our intention: social change. It’s not about developing more effective services, but rather about creating dialogues that influence on all of our understandings, conversations, and relationships.”