Pursuant to MN Statutes 181.9731 Peer to Peer Counseling Commissioner Approved Standards, initial peer support counselor training shall consist of 30 hours to include the following topics:
- Identifying and promoting wellness and self-care
- Effective coping, resiliency, and recovery strategies
- Cumulative stress recognition, effects, and management
- Peer support best practice and policy
- Effective interface with a licensed mental health professional
- Understanding department policy regarding peer support
- Basic crisis communication techniques
- Alcohol and substance abuse
- Impact of grief and loss
- Cross cultural issues in peer support
- Listening skills including verbal and nonverbal communication
- Common mental health and behavioral reactions
- Understanding depression
- Understanding post-trauma impact
- Understanding the impact simple and complex trauma
- Mental health crisis and crisis intervention
- Common mental health and behavioral reactions
- Understanding depression
- Understanding post-trauma impact
- Understanding the impact simple and complex trauma
- Understanding basic concepts of anxiety and depression
- Critical incident stress management
- Suicide risk, recognition, and intervention models
- Social, relational, organizational and substance use stressors
- Strategies to identify and mitigate negative coping mechanisms
- Statutory limits to privacy, confidentiality, and privilege
- Boundaries of peer support, recognizing peer support resources and the referral process
Of the 30 hours required training, a minimum of 16 hours training must be conducted “in person” while the remainder may be provided through an “online format.” A test must be included to evaluate the “online” portion of the training. The training must be completed within a one (1) year period.
Currently, fully trained peer support team members shall be accepted as credentialed while any trainings conducted after October 31, 2021, must be approved by the Office of the Commissioner of Public Safety prior to being conducted.
The approval process shall consist of a review of the trainer qualifications, training learning objectives and lesson plans by the Commissioner of Public Safety or their designee.
For approval, please submit the above material to:
Commissioner of Public Safety
445 Minnesota Street, Suite 1000
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101
Or via email:
dps.commissioners@state.mn.us
Download a PDF version of this Peer to Peer Training guidance.
