The Peer Support Professional’s Guide

Recovery advocate and policy leader Bill Stauffer joins meto trace the evolution of peer support from its grassroots origins to one of the fastest-growing roles in behavioral health. Drawing on nearly four decades of experience across clinical practice, recovery support, workforce development, and systems reform, we explore what the profession must protect as it grows: lived experience, authenticity, and community roots. How do we professionalize without losing the soul of the movement?

As peer support workers are integrated into hospitals, courts, and other systems of care, new opportunities (and new tensions) emerge. In this episode, Karen Miller shares her experience working as a peer specialist in a hospital and justice system settings, often as the only peer on her team. Together, we explore what it means to maintain peer values within clinical environments, navigate supervision that may not be peer-informed, and advocate for the integrity of the role.