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Nationally Recognized. Community Rooted. Professionally Certified.

At Unity Recovery, we believe peer support is both an art and a profession. Our Peer Training Institute equips individuals, organizations, and communities with the knowledge, skill, and certification pathways needed to deliver high-quality peer support across behavioral health, recovery, mental health, and community care settings.

Whether you’re beginning your journey as a peer support professional, advancing toward leadership or supervision, or developing a comprehensive peer workforce within your organization, we offer evidence-based, values-driven training that centers lived experience, equity, compassion, and professional excellence.


State-Certified Peer Training Programs

Unity Recovery is proud to offer state-approved peer certification trainings that prepare individuals for meaningful, career-building roles in peer support across Pennsylvania and Texas.

Pennsylvania Trainings & Certifications

  • Certified Recovery Specialist (CRS) – State-approved foundational training for substance use peer support professionals.

  • Certified Family Recovery Specialist (CFRS) – Specialized training for supporting families impacted by substance use.

  • Certified Recovery Specialist Supervisor (CRSS) – Supervisor-level certification for leaders overseeing peer teams.

All trainings are grounded in recovery-oriented values, professional standards, ethical practice, cultural humility, and Unity Recovery’s nationally recognized approach to peer support.

Upcoming Pennsylvania Trainings

ALLEGHENY COUNTY Class 1: Week One CRS/CFRS/CRSS March 9th, 2026 March 13th, 2026
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Class 1: Week Two CRS/CFRS/CRSS March 23rd, 2026 March 27th, 2026
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Class 2: Week One CRS/CRFS/CRSS July 13th, 2026 July 17th, 2026
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Class 2: Week Two CRS/CRFS/CRSS July 27th, 2026 July 31st, 2026
PHILADELPHIA (CRS/CFRS) March 23, 2026 April 10, 2026
Ready to start? Submit your Pennsylvania training application today!
The first step before registering with the PCB for training is to fill out this pre-application for our team to review.

Texas Trainings & Certifications

  • Core Training – Foundational competencies for all Texas peer support roles.
  • Recovery Support Peer Specialist (RSPS) – State-approved training for peer support within diverse behavioral health and recovery settings. An RSPS is a person who has lived experience of recovery with substance use challenges who is trained to support others with substance use challenges.

  • Mental Health Peer Specialist (MHPS) – Specialized training for peer support professionals working in mental health environments. An MHPS is a person who has lived experience of recovery with mental health challenges who is trained to support others with mental health challenges in a non-clinical setting.

  • Peer Specialist Supervisor (PSS) – Advanced training for supervisors guiding peer professionals across Texas. A PSS is a person who supports and guides peer specialists in their growth after they obtain their certification.

All trainings are grounded in recovery-oriented values, professional standards, ethical practice, cultural humility, and Unity Recovery’s nationally recognized approach to peer support.

Upcoming Texas Trainings (All 2026 Trainings are Digital)

RSPS 1/7/2026 1/13/2026
CORE 1/28/2026 1/30/2026
MHPS 2/9/2026 2/13/2026
CORE 2/20/2026 2/22/2026
RSPS 3/9/2026 3/13/2026
CORE 3/25/2026 3/27/2026
PSS 3/19/2026 3/20/2026
MHPS 4/13/2026 4/17/2026
CORE 4/29/2026 5/1/2026
RSPS 5/11/2026 5/15/2026
CORE 5/27/2026 5/29/2026
MHPS 6/8/2026 6/12/2026
CORE 6/24/2026 6/26/2026
PSS 6/29/2026 6/30/2026
RSPS 7/13/2026 7/17/2026
CORE 7/29/2026 7/31/2026
MHPS 8/10/2026 8/14/2026
CORE 8/26/2026 8/28/2026
RSPS 9/14/2026 9/18/2026
CORE 9/23/2026 9/25/2026
PSS 9/28/2026 9/29/2026
MHPS 10/12/2026 10/16/2026
CORE 10/28/2026 10/30/2026
PSS 11/14/2026 11/15/2026
Ready to start? Submit your Texas Training Application Today!
Our team will review applications on a rolling basis.

The Peer Leadership Institute: A Complete 2-Year Leadership Development Framework

Peer professionals deserve not only training, but career pathways. That’s why Unity Recovery offers a full, robust, ready-to-implement Peer Leadership Institute — a 21-module, two-year leadership development curriculum designed specifically for peer support organizations and teams.

This Institute is comprehensive, field-tested, and crafted by peer professionals for peer professionals. It builds capable, confident leaders who can supervise effectively, manage programs, navigate operations, and shape organizational culture.

What’s Inside the 21-Module Peer Leadership Institute?

A powerful blend of leadership theory, organizational literacy, practice-based skill-building, and reflective development, including modules such as:

  • Foundations of Peer Leadership & Servant Leadership

  • Supervision Practices for Peer Professionals

  • Data-Informed Decision-Making

  • Evaluation Tools & Rapid Feedback Approaches

  • Leadership & Artificial Intelligence in the Modern Workplace

  • Asynchronous Leadership Across Teams & Locations

  • Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

  • Conflict Management & Difficult Conversations

  • Trauma-Informed Leadership Practices

  • Ethical Decision-Making and Boundaries

  • Introduction to Organizational Operations & Strategy

  • …and many more.

The full curriculum spans two years of progressive development, combining classroom-style learning, role plays, practical tools, reflection exercises, and scenario-based leadership practice. The goal is to create leaders who are not only supervisors — but culture setters, strategic thinkers, and operationally-aware decision makers.

Use the Full Leadership Institute at Your Organization

We believe peer leadership development should be accessible. That’s why we offer:

  • Complete and free access to all 21 modules

  • Fully editable training materials

  • Handouts, worksheets, and facilitator guides

  • Slide decks and role-play exercises

  • Implementation guidance

Organizations may fully adopt, adapt, and integrate the curriculum into their internal leadership development pathways using the Creative Commons licensing of the materials.

Download the Full Leadership Materials Here (Note: 500MB Zip File)

Need Help Deploying it? We Can Support You.

Unity Recovery provides technical assistance, consultation, and launch support for organizations seeking to develop or strengthen peer career ladders, leadership pathways, and internal supervision capacity. Whether you want help with customizing the modules, training your trainers, onboarding new leadership staff, or rolling out the full two-year Institute, our team is ready to assist.


Ready to Learn More?

If you’re interested in becoming certified, joining an upcoming training, bringing training to your organization, or deploying the full Peer Leadership Institute internally, we’d love to connect. Our team will provide upcoming training dates, customized training options, and next steps to get started.

Ready to start? Email our team!
Email us any time and we'll be in touch promptly.