Courses Overview
APS Policies Course (Required)
The *APS Policies course is a required course for all APS users to learn about the Terms of Use for using the Academy of Peer Services platform. There are several actions that can lead to a suspension or termination of privileges to use the Academy of Peer Services. This course was developed to ensure that all users understand their rights and responsibilities. Completion of the course and an attestation (and course evaluation) are required prior to registering for courses.
Core Courses
The core courses provide foundational knowledge about peer services for mental health care in New York State. Successful completion of the 13 core courses is the first step toward peer specialist certification in New York. Additional requirements must be fulfilled as defined in the application to become a New York Certified Peer Specialist (NY-CPS) and New York Certified Peer Specialist -Provisional (NYCPS-P). If you plan to work with youth, families, those with HIV, or those working on recovery from addiction in NYS, separate organizations offer credentialing for peer support workers.
If you are seeking certification or continuing education, but are not located in New York, check with your state certification authority, professional association, or employer for how these courses might be counted for certification or professional development.
Elective Courses
These courses qualify for upgrades from provisional to standard certification and continuing education toward renewal of the New York State Certified Peer Specialist NYCPS or NYCPS-P. If you are taking the courses for a different type of program or work in a different state, check with your certification authority to determine whether these courses qualify for credit in your program and/or state.
Continuing Education (CE) Courses
This category of courses was introduced during the COVID pandemic to provide continuing education (CE) credit for webinars offered by the Academy of Peer Services and partnerorganizations. The New York Peer Specialist Certification Board granted approval for the APS team to convert recordings of relevant workshops and webinars into short credit bearing online courses. APS CE courses follow the same high standards of instructional design as all other Academy courses, allowing you to earn a certificate as with all other courses by completing the content, post-test, and course evaluation.
A score of 80% or higher is required on the post-test to successfully complete the course. As with the Core and Elective courses, the course evaluation is required, and feedback is regularly shared with the presenter/s (without names of those providing feedback) for the program. These courses remain open all year round and do not follow the term schedule.
Specialization Tracks
The APS Specialization Track includes six online modules designed specifically for Certified Peer Specialists interested in specialized training in one of five key areas:
- Peer Support for Health and Wellness Promotion
- Peer Support for Older Adults
- Peer Support for Individuals in Crisis
- Peer Support for Justice Involved Individuals
- Supervision of Peer Supporters
Each APS Specialization Track includes six online modules with in-depth coverage of the core knowledge and skills needed to provide peer support to specific populations, examples of lived experience, and practice activities to demonstrate knowledge. The five Tracks are designed to increase access to peer services for specialty populations, increase the capacity of agencies to provide peer services, and to support the retention of peer staff through quality peer-informed supervision. These Tracks and courses do not qualify for continuing education credit, but do qualify for NYPSCB specialty designation.
Developmental (Non-Credit) Courses
These non-credit learning opportunities are provided to increase your knowledge and opportunities for personal development. There are no prerequisites, no tests, and no certificates of completion. But they will enrich your understanding of all of these topics.