Mental Health Peer Support Professionals in CCBHCs: A Workforce Integration Needs Assessment

The peer workforce is essential to Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs).

1 in 14

needed peer support professionals are currently available

Peer support is one of nine required services in every CCBHC — a clear signal that lived and living experience belongs at the center of behavioral health care. But designating a service isn’t the same as sustaining a workforce.

This needs assessment from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, developed with support from Bristol Myers Squibb, takes a close look at how mental health Peer Support Professionals (PSPs) are integrated into CCBHCs nationwide and the evidence-based strategies required to successfully recruit, retain and grow this critical workforce.

By the Numbers

17x

growth in demand

41%

peer positions unfilled among CCBHCs in 2024

$14-$16/hr

median PSP wage below comparable frontline health care roles

What’s Inside

Drawing on key informant interviews with PSPs, CCBHC administrators and national stakeholders across five states, plus a targeted review of the literature and policy landscape, this report examines:

• Training & Certification — how requirements differ state to state, and what that means for portability and quality
• Recruitment & Retention — why turnover is a structural problem, not a motivational problem
• Compensation & Benefits — the wage gap between peer roles and comparable positions, and what’s driving it
• Career Pathways — what advancement can look like when organizations build it intentionally
• Workforce Composition — where peer roles are concentrated, and where access gaps remain
• Policy & Practice Recommendations — concrete steps in peer integration for CCBHCs, states and federal policymakers

The Bottom Line

The evidence for peer support already exists: peers improve engagement, reduce reliance on costly acute care and help close gaps left by a strained behavioral health system. What’s missing isn’t proof of concept. It’s the workforce infrastructure needed to make peer support sustainable at scale: clear roles, fair pay, real advancement and supervision that respects the value of lived and living experience.

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About Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics

Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) connect people with immediate crisis care as well as therapy, treatment, primary care and social services. CCBHCs are designed to ensure that anyone can quickly access mental health and substance care whenever and however they need it, regardless of their ability to pay. Learn more!

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