Training
Certified Recovery Peer Specialist – Changing Lives Training
The Certified Recovery Peer Specialist (CRPS) credential recognizes individuals who use their lived experience to support others navigating mental health challenges and recovery. To qualify, individuals must meet the Florida Certification Board’s peer eligibility requirements, which include being a recipient of mental health services or being a first-degree relative or primary caregiver of an individual with a mental health condition.
Federation of Families (FOF) is an approved educational provider of the Florida Certification Board (FCB) and serves as a training hub for individuals interested in becoming certified Peer Specialists. FOF offers the CRPS Changing Lives training several times throughout the year. This training is suitable for individuals pursuing either the Adult or Family Certified Recovery Peer Specialist (CRPS) credential and supports participants as they work toward certification.
Participants Will Learn
- The role and responsibilities of a Peer Specialist.
- Family engagement, cultural and linguistic competence, and effective communication.
- Professional boundaries and the importance of healthy relationships and nurturing environments in promoting overall well-being.
- Recovery support and self-care strategies.
- Trauma, including vicarious trauma, and strategies for managing its impact.
- Recovery-oriented principles and practices.
- Effective mentoring techniques.
- Ethics and professional responsibility.
- Advocacy skills to help individuals and families access needed services and resources.
- System of Care values and principles.
- The fundamentals of healthy child development and mental health.
This training is sponsored by funding from Thriving Mind of South Florida and the Department of Children and Families
MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID
Youth & Adult Curriculum
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an evidence-based training program that equips participants with the knowledge and skills to recognize signs of mental health challenges and respond to someone experiencing a mental health crisis. Similar to CPR training, which prepares individuals to assist someone experiencing a medical emergency, Mental Health First Aid teaches participants how to provide initial support until appropriate professional help is available or the crisis has been resolved.
Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) is designed for adults who interact with young people. The training helps participants recognize the difference between typical adolescent development and potential behavioral health challenges, identify warning signs, and provide appropriate initial support.
Both Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid training are evidence-based programs available in English and Spanish. Participants who successfully complete the training receive a certificate valid for two years. Renewal is recommended before the certificate expires to maintain current certification.
WELLNESS RECOVERY ACTION PLAN
The Wellness Recovery Action Plan™ (WRAP) is a self-directed wellness and recovery program that empowers individuals to take an active role in managing their well-being and developing strategies to support their recovery. WRAP is built around five key concepts: Hope, Personal Responsibility, Education, Self-Advocacy, and Support.
Through this program, participants learn to develop a personalized daily wellness plan, identify triggers and early warning signs that may affect their well-being, and create practical strategies to manage stress and prevent a crisis. Participants also learn how to develop an action plan for times when their wellness becomes more difficult to manage, including a crisis plan that communicates their preferences and identifies the support they may need while maintaining as much personal choice and control as possible.
Developed by Mary Ellen Copeland, Ph.D., WRAP has been widely used to support individuals in building resilience, improving self-awareness, and strengthening their ability to manage their own recovery. The program emphasizes personal empowerment, self-determination, and the importance of support systems in maintaining long-term wellness.