About RTI

The Recovery Training Institute (RTI) is a grant-funded training program at the Detroit Recovery Project. RTI aims to improve the behavioral health outcomes for those seeking substance use treatment and recovery support by providing education, training, mentorship, and apprenticeship to the recovery community. Our goal is to help build a connected, trained, knowledgeable, and effective network of professionals working in substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery.

RTI offers multiple training trajectories:

CPRM Academy

  • Includes 80 hours of specialized education and training for Peer Recovery support within focus areas such as advocacy, mentoring & education, recovery processes & wellness, and ethical responsibility
  • Intended for individuals who do not yet have MCBAP’s Certified Peer Recovery Mentor (CPRM) credential
  • Financial assistance and work stipends available to qualifying individuals
  • Completion of CPRM Academy required as prerequisite
  • Paid work apprenticeship
  • Entails interview process
  • Includes roughly 140 hours of additional trainings/coursework specific to the job functions of a Peer Recovery Coach
  • Includes 1 ½ years of mentored on-the-job apprenticeship performing the job functions of a Peer Recovery Coach
  • Stipends awarded upon completion of apprenticeship milestones
  • Consists of 126 training hours, including 25 hours of independent self-study, and independent work in a community setting (additional 40 hours)
  • Financial assistance available to qualifying individuals

Additional Trainings

Registration open to anyone (peer in recovery or not)
Available trainings:

What is a Certified Peer Recovery Mentor?

A Certified Peer Recovery Mentor (CPRM) is a paraprofessional credential for an individual who works as a peer provider (e.g. Recovery Coach, Certified Peer Specialist, Peer Support Specialist) who assists clients throughout all stages of their recovery from alcohol and/or drugs. An individual with a CPRM uses their skills learned in formal training and their lived experiences of addiction and recovery to deliver services that promote recovery and offer support, guidance, resources, encouragement, and hope.

What do Certified Peer Recovery Mentors/Recovery Coaches do?

The responsibilities of a CPRM/Recovery Coach include:

    • Offering emotional, informational, and instrumental support to the clients as they enter and progress through treatment and recovery
    • Assisting in post-treatment maintenance of recovery by directing the client to appropriate support systems and resources (housing, food, clothing, etc.)
    • Conducting intakes, creating individualized recovery plans with clients, and assessing the client’s progress
    • Helping the client build a recovery network by helping them build social connections & relationships through support groups/meetings and recovery events
    • Minimizing the obstacles to recovery by identifying challenges to and opportunities for long-term recovery
Why become a Certified Peer Recovery Mentor?

Studies show that people who receive peer recovery support services experience:

+ Higher satisfaction with the overall treatment experience
+ Increased treatment retention
+ Greater housing stability
+ More access to social supports
+ Improved relationships with treatment providers		 – Reduced substance use
– Decreased rates of relapse
– Less criminal justice involvement
– Lower rates of re-hospitalization
– Less need for and use of emergency services
References

Andreas, D., Ja, D.Y., and Wilson, S. (2010). Peers reach out supporting peers to embrace recovery (PROSPER): a center for substance abuse treatment recovery community services program. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 28, 326-338. doi: 10.1080/07347324.2010.488538.

Armitage, E. V., Lyons, H., & Moore, T. L. (2010). Recovery Association Project (RAP), Portland, Oregon. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 28(3), 339-357.

Bernstein, E., Bernstein, J., Tassiopoulos, K., Heeren, T., Levenson, S., & Hingson, R. (2005). Brief motivational intervention at a clinic visit reduces cocaine and heroin use. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 77(1), 49-59.

Boisvert, R. A., Martin, L. M., Grosek, M., & Claire, A. J. (2008). Effectiveness of a peer-support community in addiction recovery: Participation as intervention. Occupational Therapy International, 15(4), 205-220.

Boyd, M. R., Moneyham, L., Murdaugh, C., Phillips, K. D., Tavakoli, A., Jackwon, K., … Vyavaharkar, M. (2005). A peer-based substance abuse intervention for HIV+ rural women: A pilot study. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 19(1), 10-7.

Deering, K. N., Kerr, T., Tyndall M. W., Montaner, J. S. G., Gibson, K., Irons, L., and Shannon, K. (2011). A peer-led mobile outreach program and increased utilization of detoxification and residential drug treatment among female sex workers who use drugs in a Canadian setting. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 113, 46-54. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.07.007.

Ja, D. Y., Gee, M., Savolainen, J., Wu, S., & Forghani, S. (2009). Peers Reaching Out Supporting Peer to Embrace Recovery (PROSPER): A final evaluation report. San Francisco, CA: DYJ, Inc., for Walden House, Inc., and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Kamon, J. & Turner, W. (2013). Recovery coaching in recovery centers: What the initial data suggest: A brief report from the Vermont Recovery Network. Montpelier, VT: Evidence-Based Solutions.

Mangrum, L. (2008). Creating access to recovery through drug courts: Final evaluation report for the Texas Department of State Health Services. Austin, TX: University of Texas Addiction Research Institute. Retrieved from http://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.utexas.edu%2Fresearch%2Fcswr%2Fnida%2Fdocuments%2FATRFinalEvaluationReport-Final.doc

Min, S. Y., Whitecraft, E., Rothbard, A. B., & Salzer, M. S. (2007). Peer support for persons with co-occurring disorders and community tenure: A survival analysis. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 30(3), 207-213. doi:10.2975/30.3.2007.207.213

O’Connell, M. J., Flanagan, E. H., Delphin-Rittmon, M. E. & Davidson, L. (2017). Enhancing outcomes for persons with co-occurring disorders through skills training and peer recovery support. Journal of Mental Health, Epub ahead of print. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2017.1294733

Rowe, M., Bellamy, C., Baranoski, M., Wieland, M., O’Connell, M. J., Benedict, P., … Sells, D. (2007). A peer-support, group intervention to reduce substance use and criminality among persons with severe mental illness. Psychiatric Services, 58(7), 955-961.

Sanders, L., Trinh, C., Sherman, B., and Banks, S. (1998). Assessment of client satisfaction in a 824 peer counseling substance abuse treatment program for pregnant and postpartum 825 women. Evaluation and Program Planning 21, 287-296.

Tracy, K., Burton, M., Nich, C., and Rounsaville, B. (2011). Utilizing peer mentorship to engage high recidivism substance-abusing patients in treatment. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 37, 525-531. doi: 10.3109/00952990.2011.600385.