Sometimes the most helpful person to talk to is someone who has been through something similar themselves. That is the idea behind peer support: support from a trained peer specialist who has lived experience with mental health challenges and recovery, and who uses that experience to help others.
Peer support is not therapy, and it is not advice from a friend. It is a real service, provided by people who are trained for it, and it can make a genuine difference — especially when you are feeling alone in what you are going through.
What Peer Support Is
A peer support specialist is someone who has experienced mental health challenges firsthand and has trained to support others on their own recovery journeys. They share what helped them, listen without judgment, and walk alongside you as you work toward your own goals.
Peer support can look like:
- One-on-one conversations with someone who understands what you are going through
- Encouragement and practical help with the steps you want to take
- Sharing coping strategies that worked for them — and helping you find what works for you
- Support during hard moments, and celebration when things go well
- Help connecting with other services, groups, or community resources
The relationship is different from therapy. A therapist brings clinical training. A peer specialist brings lived experience and the message that recovery is possible — because they are living it. Many people find that combination powerful: professional guidance and someone who truly gets it.
Who Peer Support May Help
Peer support can help adults and young people who are living with mental health conditions and want support from someone who understands from the inside. It is often especially helpful for people who feel isolated, who have had a hard time trusting services before, or who are early in their recovery and want to see what is possible.
It also helps people who are doing well in other treatment and want an extra layer of support — someone to talk to between appointments, or someone who can help turn insight into everyday action.
Peer support works alongside counseling, CBRS, and case management. It does not replace any of them. Each piece has a different job, and together they can cover more ground.
What Peer Support Looks Like in Practice
Sessions are usually regular and conversational. You might meet in person at one of our offices or connect by telehealth. The focus is on your goals — what you want to work toward and what would help right now. Your peer specialist listens, shares their own experience where it is useful, and helps you build confidence in your own recovery.
There is no script and no judgment. You set the pace, and the support follows what you need.
How to Get Started
A Body & Mind Health Services offers peer support, along with counseling, CBRS, case management, and family support, in Boise, Middleton, Twin Falls, Moscow, and Kamiah, plus telehealth statewide in Idaho. We accept most insurance plans in Idaho, and Medicaid is welcome. We are now welcoming new clients, and we currently have openings.
To ask about peer support or any of our services, call 208-683-8320 or visit the Get Started page at abmhealthservices.com. Our team can help you understand the next steps.
If you are in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time, day or night.