© 2024 WGLT
A public service of Illinois State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Heartland Community College To Offer New Mental Health Certificate Program

Staff / WGLT
Peer Recovery Support Specialists are usually individuals who are in recovery from substance use or co-occurring mental health disorders.

Heartland Community College in Normal is adding a certification program with an eye on the area’s growing need for mental health support professionals. 

Behavioral health continues to be one of the top three issues in McLean County’s Community Health Improvement Plan through 2022.

The new certificate program will allow students to advance into the workplace directly from Heartland.

Associate Dean of Health Services Kelly Pyle said the program could increase access to outpatient treatment, reducing the likelihood that someone in recovery will end up in an emergency room.

In 2016, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that patients with substance use disorders frequently seek emergency care, making up half of the more than 4.9 million emergency department visits for drug-related complaints.

“Some of the new evidence and looking at addiction recovery, mental health and substance abuse research, there is evidence peer recovery does help reduce acute use of things like the emergency rooms,” said Pyle.

The Heartland board of trustees approved the adoption of the program at its Nov. 17  meeting. The Illinois Community College Board must still sign off on it. The first students are expected to enroll in fall 2021.

“Advocacy, recovery and ethics are kind of the main three content areas that we will be covering,” said Pyle. “It is meant to be three courses.”

The program features a seven credit-hour Peer Recovery Support Specialist micro-certificate. 

What is a Peer Recovery Support Specialist?

“It is something that's kind of relatively new to the field, and these individuals are not therapists, they're not counselors. They are meant to be mentors and advocates for individuals who are going through addiction. And point them in a better direction,” said Pyle. 

Pyle said some individuals joining the program to become a Peer Recovery Support Specialist have personal experience surrounding mental health and addiction recovery.

“I do anticipate that there will be high interest in this from students. I think one of the things that's fascinating about this is that some of these individuals become Peer Recovery Support Specialists because they have had some kind of addiction or substance abuse, alcohol abuse, in their own lives,” said Pyle. “They are using their own personal experience to mentor and advocate and lead another person through that addiction recovery.”

However, individuals who don't have that personal experience also can still work as certified Recovery Support Specialists.

The program is being developed in collaboration with Bloomington-based Chestnut Health Systems in response to a projected need for certification programs in substance abuse, behavioral disorder and mental health.

“We have had a health care visioning group where we get input from various people in the community that are involved in health care,” said Pyle. “Careers give us feedback about what the workforce needs, what things they are seeing, and what is changing in the health care field.” 

The intention is there will be hands-on opportunities in addition to classroom experience under the program.

Related Content