Action

The purpose of the action phase is to put into place the processes and supports that will directly influence successful delivery of peer recovery support services. Before taking action, ensure the following preparation tasks were completed: staff readiness and staff learning activities were completed; key organizational policies were reviewed and developed; and initial planning for integration occurred. Your leadership team should continue meeting regularly to develop and monitor onboarding, teaming, and supervision as peer recovery support services are provided.

 Action task checklist:

• Onboarding
• Teaming integration
• Supervision
• Sustainability

Onboarding

Onboarding provides the bridge between hiring and creating the conditions for a successful peer recovery support service. On one hand, this is a period of excitement for the peer professional to get started. On the other hand, it is a challenging period underscored by the realities of a demanding role (Gillard, Foster et al., 2022). Consider integrating the following themes of effective onboarding (SAMHSA, 2023, p. 134) into your organization’s existing process and print the corresponding onboarding checklist to use.

Initial relationship building

Onboarding presents an important opportunity for the new peer professional to begin building relationships across your organization. Introduce the new employee across services and levels of the organization: supervisors, team leads, program staff, and management. Consider spending a bit more time than usual for getting to know one another because it will help the new peer professional better understand the organization from multiple perspectives, foster a sense of inclusiveness, and show value in what this new employee will bring to the organization. These experiences immediately create a sense of job satisfaction and boost the peer professional’s confidence—both linked to retention.

Orientation to the organization

Beyond standard orientation to your organization’s mission, policies, operations, and services, consider going a bit deeper to explicitly identify the organization’s values, orientation to recovery, how staff work with one another, and teaming processes. This overview will allow the peer professional to better understand how peer recovery support services will fit into the bigger organizational picture.

Supervision

The designated supervisor should meet with the new peer professional on the first day of employment. Take time to engage and get to know one another. Other important topics to review:

• The peer professional’s job description (created during preparation phase)
• Specific tasks and responsibilities, scope of practice, and role on the clinical team
• How recovery principles will be practiced within teaming and service delivery

Additionally, it is important to provide initial workplace expectations, documentation standards, confidentiality, and how to navigate role boundaries in a team environment. Provide access to the employee handbook, peer-specific organizational policies (developed during the preparation phase), and any other relevant materials. Establish a consistent schedule right away so the new employee can plan ahead and anticipate the support to come. Finally, get the new peer professional ready for introduction to the team by handling potential questions and concerns.

Teaming

The introduction of the newly hired peer professional to the team should be sandwiched between staff readiness and teaming integration (coming up as an action phase task). In other words, the team should have already reviewed the Wisconsin model of peer recovery support services as well as its benefits, evidence, and limits. The supervisor should plan to facilitate open conversations about workplace dynamics, team collaboration, and how the peer professional role will be complementary with clinical and other professional staff roles. This initial discussion is important to set the tone for future open conversations about role clarification, understandings, and trust building.

Access to support

Peer support professionals should also be connected with other peer professional co-workers, if available. If there are no other peer professional co-workers at the time, offer guidance and support to connect them to external peer networks and supports. These relationships offer valuable ongoing support, especially when navigating challenges as the only peer professional in the agency.

Supervision to support peer recovery support services

Supervision is a central component of human service operations and represents a well-established professional specialty in behavioral health treatment (Borders et al., 2014; CSAT, 2007, 2009; Falender & Shafranske, 2014). According to Wis. Admin. Code ch. DHS 72 (DHS 72), supervision is “a professional and collaborative activity between a supervisor and staff which provides guidance and support to assure quality work and promote staff development.” When effective, supervision contributes to increasing employee competencies (Bradley & Becker, 2021), increasing job satisfaction and staff retention (Rothwell et al., 2021), enhancing the quality of services delivered (Miller & Moyers, 2021), and supporting staff to successfully implement evidence-based practice (Giannopoulos et al., 2021). In short, supervisors are critical for moving any innovation forward. Indeed, supervisory support is one of the most important ingredients in the successful implementation of peer recovery support services (Bell et al., 2025; Mirbahaeddin & Chreim, 2022). Be sure to complete the getting ready for supervision task before reviewing this section.  

Fundamentals of effective supervision are well established. As part of a behavioral health workforce expansion effort, DHS—along with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Center for Innovative Transition, Education & Employment—created a supervisor professional development initiative in which supervisors learned how to use an evidence-informed model of supervision comprising seven fundamentals (DHS, 2024a; Prock et al., 2020). While many (if not all) of these fundamentals will be familiar to supervisors, applications to working with peer professionals may be new. This subsection describes each fundamental with specific applications for working with peer professionals based on existing practice guidelines (Foglesong et al., 2022; Forbes, 2024; NAPS, 2019; SAMHSA, 2023; Stefancic et al., 2021; for an overview, see Galindo & Caldwell, 2025 recorded webinar) . Corresponding supervision tools are presented in worksheets. Then, supervision formats are discussed with attention to working with peer professional and non-peer staff. Finally, models of supervision consistent with DHS 72 are described.

Seven supervision fundamentals with application to peer professionals

Fundamental 1: supervisor professional development

Effective supervision begins with the supervisor’s own professional development. Supervisor knowledge and expertise is directly related to oversight of ethical practices, identifying and raising critical issues (Rothwell et al., 2021), and the overall delivery of effective services (Bradley & Becker, 2021). Beyond attending singular trainings, supervisor engagement in ongoing learning that uses effective methods such as performance-based feedback, role-plays, demonstration, and structured discussions is important for supervisor professional development (Milne et al., 2011). For example, a brief, structured assessment of supervision practice completed by the supervisor and staff (example: the Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory)  can provide insights into what is going well and what can be improved in supervision (DHS, 2024a). Because the same methods of supervisor professional development are underscored by effective professional development of staff (Miller & Moyers, 2021), the concept of “co-learning” is particularly important for supervisors to approach learning peer recovery support services with and from the peer professional (Forbes, 2024, p. 46; Stefancic et al., 2021). Why and how supervisor professional development matters when working with peer professionals: 

• Although there is some evidence that peer professionals prefer working with a supervisor who has lived experience (Forbes et al., 2022; Scannell, 2021), a statewide survey of Wisconsin peer professionals found that most (69% of respondents) were okay being supervised by someone without lived experience—as long as the supervisor was actively learning about peer recovery support services (DHS, 2024b). Supervisor co-learning with the peer professional embodies this message.
• Before considering what to learn for effective supervision with peer professionals, supervisors should first consider what to unlearn: viewing lived experience as anecdotal instead of central to the peer professional’s expertise and effective delivery of peer recovery support services; viewing peer support through a clinical lens of diagnosis, symptom management, and treatment response; or not paying attention to interpersonal dynamics around power, difference, or disability across the organization. In other words, supervisors who seek to work effectively with peer professionals must first reconsider the traditional approach of supervision with examination of currently held views about the nature of services and those delivering them (SAMHSA, 2023).
• Supervisor learning about peer recovery support services can start before work with the peer professional begins. A good starting point is to learn the basics of peer recovery support services. Background materials found earlier in this toolkit (see exploration phase) describe the Wisconsin model, what peer professionals do, benefits, evidence, and limits of peer support. Because peer recovery support services are based on the principles of recovery, it is recommended to review SAMHSA’s 10 guiding principles of recovery (PDF). Reviewing the job description developed by the leadership team in the preparation phase will also be important.
• Finally, continual self-examination of attitudes and assumptions about peer professionals and delivery of peer recovery support services is critical to continue effective supervision and support successful implementation.

Fundamental 2: create and maintain the supervisory alliance

The alliance between supervisor and staff is a well-established fundamental of effective supervision (Efstation et al., 1990; Watkins, 2014). The alliance is based on a relationship that is cultivated, developed, and maintained across meetings and interactions that involves supervisor curiosity in staff experiences and perspectives, careful listening with accurate reflection back to ensure understanding, looking for and affirming staff strengths, and being responsive to staff’s stated needs (Rothwell et al., 2021). A strong supervisory alliance provides the foundation for fostering professional development activities (DHS, 2024a) while increasing staff confidence for delivering effective services (Morrison et al., 2018). Why and how the supervisory alliance matters when working with peer professionals:

• A strong alliance establishes the psychological safety and trust necessary for the peer professional to provide high-quality peer recovery support services while, simultaneously, the supervisor can more readily recognize the value that peer professionals bring to services through lived experience and related expertise (Stefancic et al., 2021). Regularly attending to the alliance allows the peer professional to proactively raise concerns about documentation, referrals, ethical tensions, role strain (SAMHSA, 2023), or other important issues of delivering peer recovery support services.
• Developing a strong supervisory alliance begins during onboarding and continues throughout all supervision sessions. The supervisor should begin each session with a few minutes dedicated to engaging and alliance building. Use of OARS+I communication skills is recommended with emphasis on careful listening (SAMHSA, 2023) to demonstrate understanding while also modeling a core skill set of the peer professional (see the description of the Wisconsin model in the exploration section).
• Expressing curiosity about the person—not just the professional—and inviting personal sharing can be a part of engaging to build the alliance. Looking for strengths with affirmation provides modeling of recovery-oriented care (SAMHSA, 2023) while also building the peer professional’s confidence.

Fundamental 3: focus sessions with collaborative agenda setting

Focusing is a universal process of effective clinical services (Miller & Moyers, 2021), supervision (Clarke & Giordano, 2013), and the Wisconsin model of peer recovery support services. Focusing involves collaboratively setting the agenda for the session. In supervision, input for the session agenda comes from staff as well as the supervisor, then agreement is achieved. Because the supervisory alliance provides the relational foundation from which all supervision flows, collaborative focusing is viewed as an extension of the alliance. Items that are typically agreed upon for the session agenda include professional development topics, consultation, ethics discussion, and administrative tasks. In recent decades, supervision has increasingly focused on administrative tasks with drift away from developing staff competencies (CSAT, 2009). It is now common for supervisors to spend most session time on administrative tasks (Schriger et al., 2021). Working with a peer professional presents an opportunity to reverse this trend. Why and how focusing with collaborative agenda setting matters when working with peer professionals:

• Because the focusing process fosters efficient and effective use of supervision time, sessions are more likely to be productive than if focusing does not occur.
• Collaborative agenda setting contributes to the supervisory alliance and demonstrates valuing the peer professional’s input and priorities for discussion. Inviting full input and coming to agreement on the session agenda models the very practice of shared decision-making found in peer recovery support services.
• Striking a balance is important between focusing on administrative tasks and focusing on the peer professional’s desire to grow skills and develop professionally; supervision can cover both sets of topics.
• The agenda map is a useful tool for collaborative focusing.

Fundamental 4: completing administrative tasks

Administrative tasks relate to program functioning, addressing requirements, and handling documentation (CSAT, 2009). Guiding, supporting, and motivating staff to complete these tasks is an important role of the supervisor. Why and how completing administrative tasks matter when working with peer professionals:

• Support accountability for delivery of recovery support services while protecting the peer professional role and limits of services.
• Provide the opportunity to clarify scope of practice and peer professional competencies. Regularly revisiting scope of practice prevents peer recovery support services from shifting into clinical functions or other unrelated tasks.
• Address documentation expectations and review documentation for alignment with participant goals. Documentation review should ensure services are connected to the participant’s service plan and reflect recovery-oriented, person-first language.
• Identify practical supports for administrative skill development. Supervision may include identifying training, tools, or templates that strengthen documentation accuracy and efficiency.
• On one hand, the supervisor may bring regulatory knowledge and administrative expertise. On the other hand, it will be important not to allow these areas to overshadow principles of recovery-oriented care to practice.

Fundamental 5: fostering professional development

Fostering professional development builds upon the earlier fundamentals: supervisory alliance established at the beginning of the session and agreement on areas of focus. Supervision that fosters professional development is critical for the delivery of high-quality human services (Miller & Moyers, 2021). There are several supervisory practices that comprise this fundamental: using active learning methods such role-play or demonstration to practice a skill; providing consultation regarding a specific service participant; guiding discussion about how ethics inform service delivery; and facilitating reflective supervision to explore self-awareness, stress reduction, building capacity to handle challenging situations. Why and how fostering professional development matters when working with peer professionals:

Develop skills

Peer professionals seek to grow their skills. A statewide survey of Wisconsin peer professionals found that 78% identified professional development as the number one priority in employment (DHS, 2024b). Research consistently shows that peer professionals place high value on professional growth and development (Bell et al., 2025; Du Plessis et al., 2020; Stefancic et al., 2021). The supervisor should be ready for facilitating active learning with a focus on skill development. Developing skills through role plays, demonstrations, and practice is a powerful way to learn (Miller & Moyers, 2021). The overlap between OARS+I skills in effective supervision (Clarke & Giordano, 2013; Prock et al., 2020) and in the Wisconsin model of peer recovery support services presents an excellent opportunity for supervisor and peer professional co-learning, specifically, practicing Open questions, Affirmation, Reflection, and Summarizing, plus Informing. See skill practice tool in the appendix for guidelines.

Provide consultation

Providing consultation is a common focus of supervision-as-usual (DHS, 2024a) and is particularly important when working with peer professionals (Schannel, 2021). Consultation provides specific on-the-job guidance and support for the peer professional to effectively address challenging interactions and situations. Supervisor use of OARS+I skills during consultation is important as a practical matter as well as modeling the very skills of peer recovery support services: drawing out background of the situation with Open questions; Affirming a specific strength of the peer professional’s efforts; careful listening with Reflection to demonstrate understanding; periodically Summarizing the consult; and Informing with ask-share-ask to provide specific guidance or feedback. Skillful consultation is likely to grow the peer professional’s confidence while enhancing effective service delivery. See the consultation guide worksheet for a tool to guide consultation.

Discuss ethics and role clarity

These topics are particularly important for effective delivery of peer recovery support services and may include use of lived experience in peer relationships, maintaining appropriate boundaries, and being a part of the multidisciplinary team while preserving the integrity of the peer role. Supervisors who understand the peer recovery support model will be better equipped to offer guidance and reinforce boundaries of peer recovery support services. This is why effective supervision with peer professionals starts with fundamental number one: the supervisor’s own professional development. However, engaging in co-learning around ethics, boundaries, and the real-world dilemmas that arise in peer recovery support services is a welcomed supervision approach for the peer professional (Forbes, 2024; Stefancic et al., 2021).

Explore self-care

Related to but different than role clarity is “role strain” (SAMHSA, 2023, p. 136). Role strain can happen due to the intensive, often challenging, nature of working with individuals in early recovery from mental health or substance use. Support for the peer professional to focus on self-care is important (Forbes, 2024; Williams, 2021). Proactive discussion of workload and boundaries can be part of this conversation. Also, there may be a focus on wellness, ways to manage stress, and strategies for reducing potential burnout. Supervisors’ encouragement for peer professionals to discuss self-care is an important contributor of successful peer recovery support services (Bell et al., 2025).

Foster self-reflection

Self-reflection is highly valued by peer professionals and is important to bring regularly into supervision (Forbes, 2024). Putting self-reflection on the agenda and taking time for the peer professional to debrief and process emotionally complex service situations is useful. In a statewide survey of Wisconsin peer professionals, 79% reported valuing debriefing and processing time during supervision sessions (DHS, 2024b). Drawing out the peer professional’s thoughts or emotions with an open question, then careful listening and demonstrating understanding with reflective listening may be all that is needed by the supervisor when fostering self-reflection of the peer professional’s practice.

Fundamental 6: evaluation

Beyond the generic annual performance review, evaluation using multiple methods underscores effective supervision. Several well-established assessment tools exist for evaluating staff skills, competencies, and services. Although staff self-report is the most frequently relied upon method, direct observation of practice with structured observation is considered the most effective for reliably evaluating staff performance. Direct observation can be based on a 15–20 minute audio or video recorded sample of practice obtained with service participant informed consent. Direct observation can also be done as part of live supervision or a role play simulation. The feedback that follows provides important insights into staff strengths and areas to develop (Miller & Moyers, 2021). Unfortunately, this approach to evaluation rarely happens in practice (Schriger et al., 2021). Working with a peer professional presents an opportunity for the supervisor to try innovative evaluation methods. Why and how evaluation matters when working with peer professionals:

• Using a relevant, structured self-assessment can provide a meaningful source of evaluation. Standardized evaluations of peer recovery support services are emerging (Chinman et al., 2016). Reflecting on practice is consistent with peer professional’s valuing professional growth and development.
• The supervisor can model self-assessment by completing a relevant structured assessment as well. Given the importance of the supervisory alliance, this can be evaluated as part of routine supervision using the Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory (Efstation et al., 1990; Sabella et al., 2019).
• Direct observation of peer professional practice with structured observation and performance-based feedback is the gold standard for learning and professional development in the behavioral health field (Miller & Moyers, 2021). Using a structured observation to count OARS+I skills in a sample of practice can provide the basis of highly relevant, meaningful feedback on practice. Effective feedback will always be grounded in the psychological safety offered through the supervisory alliance. Feedback begins with focusing on what went well and identifying strengths of practice. Then, the peer professional and supervisor can come to agreement on one area to focus improvement which sets up useful planning.

Fundamental 7: planning

The final fundamental of supervision is planning. Planning underscores the goal-oriented structure of effective supervision (Bradley & Becker, 2021). Effective planning goes beyond a technical supervision contract to identify ways staff will engage ongoing professional development. Planning identifies specific, measurable, and time-limited goals which are informed by evaluation results. Planning also identifies deliberate practice methods for how the goal will be achieved (see the learning plan worksheet). 

Why and how planning matters when working with peer professionals:

• Planning represents a parallel process for what commonly happens in the delivery of peer recovery support services. Thus, modeling of effective planning during supervision supports delivery of effective planning in peer recovery support services.
• As is the case with all the fundamentals, the supervisory alliance underscores effective planning. When planning is collaborative, evocative of the peer professional’s goals, and supportive of peer professional autonomy for self-guided learning, the alliance is strengthened and the peer professional will likely be motivated to execute the plan (Clarke & Giordano, 2013).
• Planning tailors goals to strengths and career interests. Planning may include leadership development or specialized skill development.
• Planning provides a structure and focus that increase supervision efficiency and effectiveness. Moreover, planning fosters peer professional self-efficacy and confidence through active involvement in setting learning goals, monitoring learning outcomes, and celebrating learning successes.
• Peer professionals who engage in deliberate practice following supervision sessions will be more likely to achieve professional development goals, deliver higher quality services, and demonstrate better outcomes for service participants. Yet, it is important to identify resources and clarify access to supports so that the peer professional may find success in the learning process. Supervisors should ensure peer professionals know how to access needed support between sessions.
• Ongoing documentation related to planning allows for supervisor accountability, continuity of focus between sessions, recognizing progress toward peer professional development goals, and for agency, supervisor, and peer professional liability protection.

Summary of seven fundamentals

To summarize, there are seven fundamentals of effective supervision and each is readily adaptable for supervising peer professionals. The supervisor’s own ongoing professional development encapsulates effective supervision with a co-learning approach. Ongoing attention to developing then maintaining the supervisory alliance is important because it touches all aspects of practice. Focusing with the peer professional is collaborative and balances attention between administrative tasks and peer professional development activities. Peer professional development is amenable to meaningful evaluation of skills, goal setting, and planning for improvement.

Supervision formats

Individual supervision

Individual supervision sessions, ideally, are grounded in the seven fundamentals to maximize effectiveness:

• Supervisor learning with and from each individual staff member’s expertise
• Engaging to start sessions with attention to building the supervisory alliance
• Focusing with collaborative agenda setting
• Handling administrative tasks while also attending to key professional development activities
• Evaluation and planning, as needed

In the initial implementation of peer recovery support services, individual supervision plays a critical role—not only to onboard, guide, and support the peer professional (Bell et al., 2025; Mirbahaeddin & Chreim, 2022; Stefancic et al., 2021)—but as a way for the supervisor to advocate for the new service through working with other staff members (Daniels et al., 2015; Forbes et al., 2022).  Having a good working understanding of peer recovery support services, their benefits, evidence, limits, and reasons for selection by the leadership team (see exploration tasks) will be critical for the supervisor to possess going into individual sessions with staff. Moreover, it will be important for non-peer staff readiness activities to be completed (see preparation tasks) so individual supervision can provide tailored supports for developing staff member readiness. Consider these opportunities during individual sessions with non-peer staff: focusing, administrative tasks, professional development, evaluation, planning, and group supervision.

• Focusing: Bring up the topic of working alongside the new peer professional. Ensure that discussion about peer recovery support services gets on the agenda.
• Administrative tasks: Discuss how the peer recovery support service is different than—but complementary to—the services this individual provides. Discuss role clarity of team members. Handle questions and concerns about administrative aspects of service coordination and teaming. If needed, reference background materials found in the exploration section related to the Wisconsin model, what peer professionals do, benefits, and limits.
• Professional development: There are several areas here for developing individual staff member readiness and self-reflection:
  • Foster understanding of peer recovery support services. Guide discussion about how this individual’s work intersects with peer recovery support services, the person-centered approach, and principles of recovery.
  • Explore the value of peer recovery support services and discuss how lived experience is expertise (Bochicchio et al., 2023).
  • If the supervisor has noticed any instances of disrespectful or dismissive behaviors toward the peer professional, directly address these as part of the organization’s respectful workplace or other relevant policy. If negative attitudes by a team member are allowed to persist, it can directly undermine the effectiveness of peer recovery support services (Firmin et al., 2019; Scannell, 2021).
• Evaluation: During the session, have the individual staff member complete the Implementing Peer Recovery Support Services Survey, then discuss responses in an informal manner. Results will provide insights into areas of readiness for working with the peer professional and areas to cultivate readiness.
• Planning: Following the survey, the supervisor could collaboratively develop a plan with the individual staff member about what area of readiness to develop and how, such as:
  • Learn more about peer recovery support services.
  • Reflect on attitudes toward peer professional lived experience as expertise,
  • Brainstorm ways that recovery principles intersect with current services.
  • There are many creative ways for individual staff members to develop readiness for peer recovery support services.

Group supervision

The seven fundamentals of effective supervision also can be readily adapted to group supervision: sessions begin with an engagement activity followed by collaborative agenda setting; discussion of administrative topics and consultation needs followed by a facilitated professional development activity; and the session concludes with some planning and next right steps. When initially implementing peer recovery support services, group supervision can enhance team cohesion when everyone’s voice is heard, when multiple perspectives are shared, when collaborative problem-solving is engaged, and when collective expertise underscores learning. Research suggests such team cohesion and collaborative culture reduces peer professional burnout (Bell et al., 2025). Note that group supervision is different than treatment team meetings: whereas the focus of treatment team meetings is on service participants (progress, treatment planning, coordination of services), the focus of group supervision is on the professionals (roles, responsibilities, ethics, professional development). The supervisor should be thoughtful about the group’s development once the new peer professional comes aboard. The following are some recommendations for various sessions.

• Initial session: Welcome the peer professional to the group. Establish a supportive environment by clearly articulating lived experience is viewed as a valuable form of professional expertise. Facilitate meaningful introductions and ensure the peer professional is actively engaged in discussions (Kuhn et al., 2015; Stefancic et al., 2021).
• First few sessions: Initial group sessions should focus on team integration. It is critically important to establish peer professional role clarity among team members so that overlapping responsibilities do not lead the peer professional to role drift (Bell et al., 2025; Ehrlich et al., 2020; Reeves, McIntyre et al., 2024; Shepardson et al., 2019). Handle administrative tasks as needed.
• Later sessions: As peer recovery support services become more fully integrated, group supervision can shift focus to professional development topics that are relevant to both the peer professional and non-peer staff: confidentiality, ethics and boundaries, recovery-oriented principles to practice, cultural humility, and strategies for engaging service participants (SAMHSA, 2023). The group context provides an excellent opportunity for staff to bring multiple professional perspectives and expertise to learn with and from each other. Practicing skills is highly recommended. Providing role plays, demonstrations, and facilitating skill practice activities on OARS+I skills (see skill practice activity) is relevant for all team members because these skills underscore effective human services regardless of provider, setting, or population (Miller & Moyers, 2021; Miller & Rollnick, 2023).

Supervision models

Clinical supervision

This model reflects existing supervision as provided by a licensed or otherwise qualified clinical supervisor. As described earlier, clinical supervision involves individual and group sessions guided by seven fundamentals. In state-certified programs, supervision of peer recovery support services occurs under the oversight of a competent mental health professional. Competent mental health professionals providing this oversight need to engage background learning (see exploration section) and should maintain supervision records or logs documenting supervisory guidance to and service oversight of the peer professional. The leadership team should reference Wis. Admin. Code ch. DHS 72 and other applicable administrative rules to ensure requirements are met for supervising peer professionals.

Peer supervision

The model of peers supervising other peers is not new (Borders, 2012; Martin et al., 2018). In the context of implementing peer recovery support services, peer supervision is supervision provided by a peer professional to another peer professional (see Wis. Admin. Code ch. DHS 72). Peer supervisors bring deep understanding of the peer professional role. This is the go-to supervision model in community-based and peer-run organizations where peer recovery support is the primary service delivered. Like the clinical supervision model, sessions are regularly scheduled, use individual and group formats, and include records or logs that document supervisory guidance, goals, and next steps. Yet, the peer supervision model has relative advantage over the clinical supervision model because peer professionals highly value working with a supervisor who has lived experience (Forbes et al., 2022; Scannell, 2021). Moreover, peer supervision promises several things to peer professionals: strengthened service delivery; illuminated aspects of practice through mutuality and shared experiences; practice grounded in recovery principles; reinforced boundaries to enhance role clarity; and increased attention to ethics, self-care, and wellness. But peer supervision also brings potential pitfalls:

• Mistaking mutuality for informality and the blurring of boundaries such that the professional relationship moves toward mutual support or personal processing
• Sharing lived experience in ways that centers the peer supervisor with excessive or inappropriate self-disclosure that detracts from a focus on the peer professional
• Avoiding accountability or difficult conversations to not upset the peer professional
• Providing guidance outside scope or authority, or making decisions that fall outside the defined role of peer supervision
• Carrying the emotional labor of the work without engaging self-care.

Co-supervision

The potential pitfalls of the peer supervision model are readily mitigated in the co-supervision model. As the name implies, this model structures supervisory responsibilities between two supervisors: a competent mental health professional and the peer supervisor. Although there is little research currently available to evaluate the effectiveness of this supervision model (Hodge et al., 2026), it nonetheless offers the intuitive appeal of combining the benefits of clinical supervision fundamentals with the promises of peer supervision. There is no right or wrong way to develop the co-supervision model. However, if the leadership team decides to go with this model, a useful plan will need to determine how supervisory fundamentals and responsibilities will be divided (see the co-supervision complementary supports table as a general example); create a supervision structure detailing the frequency, facilitation, and format of sessions; develop a plan for co-supervisor coordination; and develop a plan for how supervisors will be supported. See the planning worksheet. The bottom line is the plan must be thorough, actionable, and clearly communicated with the peer professional and other relevant program staff so that it’s doable.

Co-supervision offers complementary supports to the peer professional

In state-certified programs that provide billable peer recovery support services, supervision requirements are described in the related administrative rules. The leadership team should review the relevant rules—including Wis. Admin. Code ch. DHS 72—to understand the requirements of supervising the peer professional.

Sustainability

There is longitudinal evidence that, at the time of hire, peer professionals show measures of well-being and psychological functioning comparable to the general population and this baseline continues across the first year of employment (Gillard, Foster et al., 2022). As Gillard and colleagues (2022, p. 14) concluded: “Peer workers were well when they came into [the] role and largely remained that way, challenging views voiced by some mental health care professionals that peer workers might inevitably become unwell when faced by the stresses of peer work.” Peer professionals tend to experience increases in confidence, improvements in self-esteem, and a greater sense of mastery over personal recovery through gainful employment (Scannell, 2021). Building upon these research insights as well as those from a statewide survey of Wisconsin peer professionals (DHS, 2024b), this final part of the toolkit will explore how you and your leadership team can sustain peer recovery support services by retaining the peer professional, creating opportunities for professional development, and funding the position.

Retaining the peer professional

Given the historically high turnover rates in human services and its costly, undesirable effects (Wine et al., 2020), it makes sense to consider how to best retain newly hired peer professionals. Focusing on employee job satisfaction provides a useful focus because it is a robust predictor of staff retention in human services generally (Mor Barak et al., 2001) and for peer professionals specifically (Clossey et al., 2018; Edwards & Solomon, 2023), and employers have influence over employee job satisfaction (De Neve & Ward, 2025). Employer support is one of the most important ingredients of sustaining peer recovery support services (Bell et al., 2025; Saad et al., 2024), and this finding was affirmed by Wisconsin peer professionals (DHS, 2024b, p. 27). More good news for employers: Many tools in this toolkit directly enhance peer professional job satisfaction and retention. Let’s review:

• Peer professionals are more likely to stay when colleagues accept them as a credible member of the team, and recognize and value the unique contributions of peer recovery support services (Ehrlich et al. 2020; Mancini, 2018; Vandewalle et al. 2016)—see preparation phase tasks cultivating staff readiness and planning for integration.
• Supervision that focuses on role clarity (Mancini, 2018), empowers the peer professional in the role (Edwards & Solomon, 2023; Gillard, Foster et al., 2022), and promotes professional growth (Bell et al., 2025; Du Plessis et al., 2020; Stefancic et al., 2021) directly contributes to peer professional job satisfaction—see action phase teaming integration and supervision agenda map worksheets.
• Although there is a gap in the research examining the association between peer professional job satisfaction and wages (Castedo de Martell et al., 2025), studies consistently show that a lack of living wage is a significant barrier to sustaining peer recovery support services (Bell et al., 2025). Lack of living wage was the number one reason identified by Wisconsin peer professionals for not working in the field (DHS, 2024b, p. 23)—see preparation phase task develop supportive organizational policies: human resources.
• In general, a supportive organizational culture is linked with peer professional job satisfaction (Clossey et al., 2018) and organizational policies that are recovery-oriented and that promote wellness or self-care are directly linked with optimal peer professional workforce outcomes (Bell et al., 2025)— see preparation phase task develop supportive organizational policies: recovery-oriented and human resources.

The peer professional job satisfaction and retention figure summarizes the research-based factors that point to peer professionals’ job satisfaction and retention. Ultimately, asking peer professionals themselves is the best way to understand and promote retention and sustainability of peer recovery support services.

Peer professional job satisfaction and retention figure

Creating opportunities for professional development

Creating opportunities for professional development is another key to retaining peer professionals and sustaining peer recovery support services (Bell et al., 2025; Mancini, 2018; Reeves, Loughhead et al., 2024; Saad et al., 2024; Tate et al., 2022). Returning to the statewide survey, the number one employer support identified by Wisconsin peer professionals was having opportunities to develop professionally (DHS, 2024b, p. 27). This makes sense because peer professionals place high value on growing their skills (Du Plessis et al., 2020; Stefancic et al., 2021). Moreover, access to ongoing professional development directly links to sustainability of peer recovery support services (Ibrahim et al., 2020; Mirbahaeddin & Chreim, 2022). Consider two approaches for creating opportunities for peer professional development:

Formal ongoing learning

The focus on professional development using active learning methods during supervision was featured in previous description of supervision because of how supervision directly advances peer professional ongoing learning. Beyond supervision, your organization can host in-services, workshops, and other learning opportunities for relevant topics, skills, and practices to advance effective peer recovery support services that also have mutual interest for non-peer staff (SAMHSA, 2023). Job shadowing and one-to-one learning (such as mentoring by a more experienced team member or co-learning with the supervisor) are particularly positive for peer professionals. Self-study and online learning formats were found to be negatively correlated with job satisfaction (Jenkins et al., 2018), so these formats should be used judiciously.

Informal ongoing learning

Your organization may consider developing internally for two or more peer professionals—or supporting one peer professional’s participation externally in—a peer network. Peer network meetings allow peer professionals to come together and reflect on their work, learn with and from one another’s experiences on a range of topics, discuss challenges to well-being, and identify supports for implementation. In a review of peer network studies, the researchers found the format also strengthened participants’ recovery and wellness (Fortuna et al., 2020). For Wisconsin peer professionals, access to peer networks within the workplace was identified as an important employer support (DHS, 2024b, p. 27). In short, peer network meetings empower peer professionals “to discover their strengths and to support each other through collegial consultation” (Mirbahaeddin & Chreim, 2022, p. 605) while strengthening personal recovery. The bottom line is this: When an organization creates opportunities for professional development—formal and informal—the organization demonstrates “a belief that the peer role is a long-term career pathway, reflected in opportunities for advancing professional development” (Bell et al., 2025, p. 10).

Funding the position

As already discussed in the funding section of the preparation phase, funding is critical for sustaining peer recovery support services. Although cost-effectiveness studies are beginning to show important returns on investing in peer recovery support services (Castedo de Martell, Moore et al., 2025; Castedo de Martell, Wilkerson et al., 2025), many challenges exist to adequately funding these important services (SAMHSA, 2024). And yet, sustainability hinges on funding and financing (Bell et al., 2022). Although there are no clear solutions to the funding challenges, there are important insights for you and your leadership team to consider.

First, in a state-by-state analysis, average peer professional wages are consistently lower than the local living wage (Smith, 2024). The survey of Wisconsin peer professionals makes the point: Of those not working in the peer field at the time of survey, lack of living wage was the number one reason for not working in the field (DHS, 2024b, p. 23). Figuring out creative ways to make wages for peer professionals equitable to their clinical provider colleagues will go a long way toward retention and sustainability.

Second, a useful way to frame decisions about wages and compensation is considering value (Alavi et al., 2024; Bell et al., 2022). As an organization, what value do you place on these evidence-based, cost-effective services? Your leadership team’s decisions about compensation will be underscored by values.

Third, how the position is configured matters. Whereas peer professionals who are subcontracted may become peripheral to operations and decision-making, peer professionals who are hired with full integration into teaming and operations will likely lead to more effective implementation and successful services.

Fourth, what is compensated also matters. Including provisions to compensate peer professionals for time spent in self-care, underwriting the costs of continuing education, and providing paid time and travel to attend training are creative examples of meaningful investments in retaining peer professionals (SAMHSA, 2023). Similar financial supports were identified as highly valued by Wisconsin peer professionals (DHS, 2024b, p. 27).

Fifth, tapping into multiple funding sources will contribute to sustainability. As discussed in the preparation phase, braided funding helps organizations to sustain the operational costs of implementing peer recovery support services when grants end or funding changes occur. Some questions for your team to consider:

• What funding sources are currently available to sustain peer recovery support services? Be sure to reference Wisconsin Medicaid’s coverage for peer recovery support services (PDF).
• What are some ways you might be able to innovate funding of peer recovery support services?
• How might you approach the challenge of creating an equitable pay scale for peer professionals to meaningful increase wages?
• Beyond salary, what are some simple but meaningful ways you could compensate your peer professional(s)?