Peer Recovery Specialist, Outpatient Counseling Services

Company Summary

At Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare
, Hope is Spoken Here. Our mission is to provide quality, community-based services that prevent and address mental health disorders, developmental disabilities, and substance use disorders.

We put people first-ensuring every individual is treated with dignity and respect while providing flexible, affordable, and timely services.

Join us in making a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve as a Peer Recovery Specialist.

The Peer Recovery Specialist functions as a member of the team to provide expertise about the recovery process, symptom management, and the persistence required by clients to have a satisfying life. (
SOR Grant
)

Duties include:

• Collaborates to promote a team culture that recognizes, understands and respects each client's point of view, experiences, and preferences.
• Responsible for maximizing client choice, self-determination, and decision‑making in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of treatment.
• Provides peer counseling and consultation to individual clients, families and team staff; acts as a liaison with other BRBH programs and community resources; carries out rehabilitation and support functions; and assists in mental health/substance use treatment, education, support, and consultation to families, and crisis intervention under the clinical supervision of staff.
• Responsibilities of the Warm Line include answering the phone M-F (9‑5), returning voicemails from after hours calls within 24hrs, proper and accurate documentation on Warm Line tracking sheet.

The anticipated base salary for this position is $38,563.20 to $40,705.60. Actual compensation offered within this range will be determined based on the candidate's experience, education, qualifications (knowledge, skills, and abilities), geographic location, complexity of role, and other relevant business considerations. We kindly ask that candidates do not discuss compensation until after an offer of employment is extended.

• Knowledge & Skills
  :
  • Peer Recovery Specialist must have, at a minimum, qualifications that are documented or observable to include knowledge of:
    • Have personally experienced a substance use disorder.
    • The Peer Recovery Specialist assists the other team members to understand the client's perspective and subjective experience. Is or has been a recipient of substance related disorder services, and has acquired and uses the skills for chronic disease management.
    • Communication skills (oral and written), crisis intervention and basic computer usage
    • Knowledge of substance related disorders, trauma‑informed approaches to services, and community resources
    • Demonstrated interpersonal communication skills, ability to work with persons with severe and persistent mental illness and ability to establish supportive trusting relationships
    • Possess ability to recognize and adjust practice and services to cultural and ethnic differences.
• Education: High school diploma or GED required.
• Experience: Have at least one year of recovery and lived experience with mental illness or substance use disorder conditions;
  Awareness of the importance of recovery and living with a mental illness or substance use disorder conditions;
  Past experience working directly with people in a service‑oriented field is beneficial. Understanding of community resources and the recovery‑oriented systems of care model is preferred.
• Licenses/Certifications: Certification as a Virginia Peer Recovery Specialist with certification in good standing preferred. Completion of the approved certification course through VA DBHDS within one year of employment is required.
• Background Check: Fingerprints, State and FBI criminal record reports, drug test, and…