Vermont
Yes. The certification process includes a combination of training, work experience, and passing an exam.
Pathways Vermont serves as the Peer Certification Training Center, and the Copeland Center serves as the Vermont Peer Support Credentialing Center. Additionally, Certified Peer Support Providers (CPSP) can apply for licensure through the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (OPR).*
*OPR licensure is optional unless required for Medicaid billing or by your employer.
Yes, there is now a certification for mental health peer support providers, and there is a separate one for Recovery Support Specialists.
None
Be at least 18 years old
Have lived experience of trauma, mental health and/or substance use challenges
Living in or employed in VT at least 51% of the time
Standard path (for people new to the peer support field):
250 hours of paid or unpaid supervised peer support work prior to certification
Alternative path (for peer supporters who have been in the field and can qualify without taking the 80-hour training):
1 year of supervised peer support work (at least 1,550 hours); or 1,500 supervised hours over three (3) years, with at least 500 hours in the past year
Reciprocity path (for peer supporters who hold a current certification from a state other than Vermont):
At least one year of paid or unpaid employment (1,550 hours) or 1,550 hours in three (3) years of employment as a certified peer support provider
Peer Support Providers are required to complete:
Intentional Peer Support (IPS) Core 40-hour training* (Alternative, Standard, & Reciprocity*)
*Please note: The VT IPS Hub is unable to provide IPS training to people who do not reside in Vermont. You will need to take an IPS core course through a training offered in your state or through IPS Central.
Plus:
VT Certified Peer Support Provider (CPSP) 80-hour training (For the Standard Path)
VT Peer Support Provider Code of Ethics 16-hour Training (For the Alternative Path)
Training is sponsored by the Vermont Department of Mental Health. Typically, training will be free to participants (+$100 fee per person for training materials).
Training is sponsored by the Vermont Department of Mental Health.
Yes, the Peer Support Provider Certification exam is administered by the Vermont Credentialing Center, at the Copeland Center.
To begin the certification journey, you do not need peer support or any other professional experience/educational experience. All CPSPs must agree to adhere to the Vermont Certified Peer Support Provider Code of Ethics.
There are some additional qualifications for the Reciprocity path:
- Have a current and active peer support provider certification in a state other than Vermont;
- Have no pending disciplinary actions or unresolved complaints in the state in which the certification was issued;
- Have completed 20 hours of continuing education in the two years before the date of the reciprocity application, including six hours of ethics.
While background checks are not required for certification, CPSPs who pursue licensure will undergo a background check with criminal history and other good standings questions that are standard for any profession licensure offered by the Office of Professional Regulation (OPR). Please note, that having a criminal record does not disqualify someone from obtaining licensure. OPR will review information on a case-by-case basis; it’s important that applicants be honest in their disclosure.
The CPSP exam is sponsored by the Vermont Department of Mental Health.
CPSPs will only need to take and pass the test once to maintain certification. The process for maintaining licensure differs from certification, and requires ongoing Continuing Education hours.
No cost for certification as it is sponsored by the Vermont Department of Mental Health. There is a $50 fee for licensure through the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (OPR).
Pathways Vermont is the Peer Certification Training Center, and the Copeland Center is the Vermont Peer Support Credentialing Center. After completing the trainings, work experience, and passing the exam, the Peer Support Provider Certification is administered by the Vermont Peer Support Credentialing Center, the Copeland Center.
The Vermont Peer Credentialing Center is the official hub for credentialing peer support providers — individuals who use their own lived experience of mental health, substance use, and trauma recovery to support others on their journeys.
Through a partnership with the Vermont Department of Mental Health and the Office of Professional Regulation (OPR), the Center upholds the values of mutuality, respect, and self-determination that define peer support. Certification through this program recognizes a provider’s experience, training, and commitment to ethical, trauma-informed, and recovery-oriented practice.
Through clear paths — including standard certification, reciprocity, and alternate routes for experienced providers — Vermont’s credentialing process ensures that peer supporters are recognized as essential professionals in the behavioral health system.
The Vermont Peer Credentialing Center is more than a gatekeeper of certification; it is a resource for ongoing growth, integrity, and connection within the peer community. Together, we are strengthening the peer workforce and advancing a vision of wellness grounded in hope, human rights, and shared experience.
The Office for Professional Regulation (OPR) is the entity that provides licensure
On the Pathways Vermont Peer Workforce Development Website: https://vermontpeerworkforce.org/
CPSP trainings: https://vermontpeerworkforce.org/vt-peer-certification-training-center
Other upcoming trainings (includes IPS Core, CEs, Ethics, Co-Reflections, and more): https://vermontpeerworkforce.org/upcoming-events
You can find out more about training opportunities here: https://vermontpeerworkforce.org/upcoming-events
For peer trainings (not certification):
Pathways Vermont
https://vermontpeerworkforce.org/upcoming-events
For Peer Support Provider Certification Training related questions, please reach out to [email protected]
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No
In the state of Vermont, CPSPs are Certified Peer Support Providers, and PRSS are Peer Recovery Support Specialists.
Licensed CPSP services are billable to medicaid. Individual CPSPs are not able to bill medicaid directly.
CPSPs who are employed at Designated Behavioral Health Agencies use medicaid billing to pay for their positions. The Vermont Department of Mental Health uses block grant funding to support peer run organizations that include peer support including training, certification, a peer run respite, and drop-in centers.
Yes
Peer Workforce Development Initiative @ Pathways Vermont Funded by the Department of Mental Health (DMH)
[email protected] (888) 492-8218
There occasionally is a Peer Support Conference hosted in Vermont, it has previously been hosted by the Copeland Center. There is an annual DMH Conference, however, it is not peer focused but often has some peer-related content.
Additionally, Mad Pride has been hosted in Vermont since 2016. Mad Pride is a movement for the rights, dignity, and liberation of mad folks and people who have been marginalized or harmed by the mental health system.
Katie Wilson - serves on the Peer Workforce Development Initiative [email protected] General email: [email protected]
In light of Covid-19 the certified Statewide IPS Facilitators are transitioning the training to an online format.
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