LMU's Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Training Program is a state-funded initiative aimed at training and certifying peer specialists in California. Peer specialists, also known as peer support workers or peer counselors, are individuals with lived experience of mental health challenges who use their unique insights and experiences to offer support, guidance, and encouragement to others on their recovery journeys.
The program combines the University’s strong academic reputation and its extensive experience providing professional instruction in the areas of mental and behavioral health to those with lived experience.
Are you passionate about promoting mental health and wellness within your community? Do you have personal experience navigating the challenges of mental illness and want to use your journey to help others? If so, LMU's Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Training Program is designed for you!
For more information, please contact us at Elizabeth.Tobias@lmu.edu
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LMU Extension is an approved CalMHSA training provider for Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Core Competency Training. The program meets the educational requirements necessary for applicants seeking to take the state certification exam to become a California Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist.
The 80-hour Peer Specialist training program includes the following 17 core competencies:
- The concepts of hope, recovery, and wellness
- The role of advocacy
- The role of consumers and family members
- Psychiatric rehabilitation skills and service delivery, and addiction recovery principles, including defined practices
- Cultural and structural competence trainings
- Trauma-informed care
- Group facilitation skills
- Self-awareness and self-care
- Co-occurring disorders of mental health and substance use
- Conflict resolution
- Professional boundaries and ethics
- Preparation for employment opportunities, including study and test-taking skills, application and resume preparation, interviewing, and other potential requirements for employment
- Safety and crisis planning
- Navigation of and referral to, other services.
- Documentation skills and standards
- Confidentiality
- Digital literacy
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Mario Johnson
Mario Johnson works to be the voice of hope for youth and families through building community resources, program development and implementation while empowering volunteers, direct service workers, advocates, and service providers through training. His objective is to endorse programs that focus on mentorship and leadership skill development; re-energize community connections, revitalize policies and rally program support to create systemic change.
Mario’s credentials include a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communication Studies, a Master of Science Degree in Community Counseling and Master of Social Work Degree. In addition to his colligate accomplishments, he recently completed the Annie E. Casey Child and Family Fellowship. This fellowship has afforded him the opportunity to be connected to innovative child well-being leaders nationwide and strengthened his knowledge in developing results-based actions plans that focus on serving individuals disproportionately represented in the foster care system. Mario learned to connect his “why” to making impactful change for children, youth and families served by the child welfare system through his career experiences and fellowship journey. Simply stated, Mario’s desire is to serve in a way that inspires others around him to engage and join him in aggressively dismantling systemic racism and transforming child welfare systems into systems that focus on child and family well-being. Increasing the focus on child and family well-being places us in a space of aligning the work with community, non-profit, public and philanthropic partners to reduce disproportionality and increasing culturally sensitive community resources with a goal of helping all thrive. Mario believes that our hope is rooted in working with leaders to build their skills around having courageous conversations; re-energize community connections and to revitalize policies and practices that create systemic change through understanding the individual stories of persons with lived experience. Through his lived experiences in the professional setting, he has acquired various skills and managed to successfully improve how systems serve children, youth, and families. Mario served as a Division Chief with the LA County Department of Children and Family Services to stand up the Office of Equity. Currently, Mario is a Strategic Consultant, assisting multiple states with transforming child welfare to child and family wellbeing systems.
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UPCOMING CLASSES
Schedule Coming Soon
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Scholarships are available for California residents through a fully funded program by the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) with no out-of-pocket costs for tuition or materials. Scholarship includes the cost of tuition, career counseling, job placement assistance and post-program support for six (6) months. Interested individuals can complete a scholarship application. Click here to apply:
Peer Specialist Scholarship Application
To request a hard copy of the application, email elizabeth.tobias@lmu.edu or call 310-338-5813.
California Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist Scholarship vouchers are also accepted.