Preventing Peer Drift Through Role Clarity and Strong Support Systems

By Community Service Board of Middle Georgia (CSBMG)

As the peer support workforce continues to expand, maintaining the integrity of Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) roles is essential. One of the most widely discussed challenges in peer support is “peer drift,” which occurs when CPS duties gradually shift away from their intended recovery-oriented purpose (SAMHSA, 2022). Peer drift can emerge when Certified Peer Specialists take on tasks aligned more closely with clinical roles or, conversely, when their work becomes overly informal or unstructured due to shared lived experience.

Ensuring role clarity is a key strategy for preventing peer drift. When peer support professionals have clearly defined responsibilities and supportive policies, they are better able to uphold the values of mutuality, empowerment, and recovery. Research emphasizes that appropriate training, ongoing supervision, and attention to scope-of-practice boundaries help strengthen the peer workforce and prevent unintentional role confusion (Daniels et al., 2021).

Supporting the peer workforce also requires organizational commitment. This includes providing opportunities for continuing education, offering supervision from experienced peer professionals, and ensuring that workload expectations align with the philosophy and ethics of peer support.

Through these practices, behavioral health organizations like CSBMG can preserve the authenticity of peer support and continue to deliver high-quality, recovery-centered services.

References

Daniels, A. S., Tunno, B., & Powell, E. (2021). Strengthening the peer support workforce. Psychiatric Services.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2022). Peer support services in crisis care.