Peer Specialist

Greater Lakes Mental Healthcare; Lakewood (WA); On-site; USD 34,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Greater Lakes Mental Health, part of the MultiCare Behavioral Health Network, seeks an Outreach Peer Specialist to work in the community with a multidisciplinary team. You will provide peer perspectives on recovery, symptom management, and patient empowerment, collaborating to promote respect and understanding.

Required are a high school diploma and CPSS credentials with every employee being guided to obtain CPSS within the stated timeline.

Qualifications

• High school diploma preferred or two years paid/volunteer work with individuals with severe and persistent mental illnesses.
• Active CPSS required at hire for employees hired after 2025.
• CPSS certification must be obtained within one year of hire.
• ACCR credential must be applied for within 30 days of hire; can be pending 120 days if needed.
• BLS certification and First Aid card due within 30 days of hire.
• Experience as a recipient of mental health services for severe mental illness.

Responsibilities

• Assist clients in a wide range of services to regain control and success in their lives.
• Provide peer counseling and support, drawing on shared experiences to guide patients.
• Mentor patients to promote hope and empowerment.
• Provide consultation to the team about patients’ experiences with mental illness and recovery.
• Direct clinical services to patients in office and community settings to teach coping strategies.
• Encourage consumer self-help programs and advocacy organizations.

Skills

Peer support

Empathy

Team collaboration

Education

High school diploma preferred

CPSS certification

ACCR credential

BLS Certification

First Aid card

Valid driver’s license

Experience as mental health consumer

Training completion

Job description

$24.83 - $35.71/hourly Posted 14 Days Ago Full Time Less than 10 Applies

Lakewood, WA 98499

Join a team that shares your calling

At MultiCare, you’re more than just a job title — you’re part of a team built on trust that cares for each other, our patients and our communities. Belonging here means living our mission and values every day. If your purpose and passions align with ours, you’ll find a place to grow, do meaningful work and build a career you love in a community that feels like home.

FTE: 1.0, Shift: Day, Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8am - 4:30pm

This is an Outreach Peer Specialist role, and the work is conducted in the community with a team.

Position Summary

The Peer Specialist is a key multidisciplinary team position at MultiCare. Providing peer viewpoints about the recovery process, symptom management, and the persistence required by patients with severe and persistent mental illnesses to maintain a healthy lifestyle, you will collaborate to promote a team culture of respect, empathy and understanding.

Join a team that shares your calling

At MultiCare, you’re more than just a job title — you’re part of a team built on trust that cares for each other, our patients and our communities. Belonging here means living our mission and values every day. If your purpose and passions align with ours, you’ll find a place to grow, do meaningful work and build a career you love in a community that feels like home.

FTE: 1.0, Shift: Day, Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8am - 4:30pm

This is an Outreach Peer Specialist role, and the work is conducted in the community with a team.

Position Summary

The Peer Specialist is a key multidisciplinary team position at MultiCare. Providing peer viewpoints about the recovery process, symptom management, and the persistence required by patients with severe and persistent mental illnesses to maintain a healthy lifestyle, you will collaborate to promote a team culture of respect, empathy and understanding.

Responsibilities

• You will assist clients in a wide range of services to regain control and success in their own lives, such as developing supportive relationships, self-advocacy, stable housing, education, and employment.
• You will provide peer counseling and support, drawing on common experiences as a peer, to validate patients’ experiences and to provide guidance and encouragement to patients to take responsibility and actively participate in their own healthcare and wellness.
• You will serve as a mentor to patients to promote hope and empowerment.
• You will provide consultation from a mental health consumer perspective to the entire team concerning patients’ experiences on symptoms of mental illness, responses to and opinions of treatment, and experiences of recovery.
• You will assist in the provision of direct clinical services to patients on an individual, group, and family basis in the office and in community settings to teach symptom/behavior-management techniques, support skill-building, and to strengthen skills to cope with internal and external stresses.
• You will encourage consumer self-help programs and consumer advocacy organizations that promote recovery.

Requirements

• High school diploma preferred OR two years paid or volunteer work experience with individuals with severe and persistent mental illnesses Successful completion of assigned training
• Employees hired after November 1, 2025 must have an active Certified Peer Support Specialist (CPSS) at time of hire.
• Current employees must obtain Washington State Certified Peer Support Specialist (CPSS) certification within one (1) year of hire but no later than 12/31/2026.
• Employees hired before November 1, 2025 may hold the CPSST credential while working towards obtaining their CPSS but no later than 6/30/2027
• Washington State Counselor Agency Affiliated Registered (ACCR) credential must be applied for within thirty (30) days of hire. Employees may work while the application is pending for up to one hundred twenty (120) days
• BLS Certification and First Aid card due within 30 days of hire
• Experience as a recipient of mental health services for severe and persistent mental health illness
• Driving is an essential function of this position. The incumbent will routinely travel between clinic, community, patient, and business locations in the performance of assigned duties and may be required to operate a personal vehicle and/or agency-owned vehicle. A valid driver's license, current automobile insurance, and acceptable driving record in compliance with agency vehicle-use requirements are required

About Greater Lakes Mental Health

Greater Lakes Mental Health is part of MultiCare’s Behavioral Health Network, serving more than 10,000 individuals across Pierce County each year. Providing mental health and substance use disorder treatment for adults, children and families with Medicaid coverage, Greater Lakes operates six convenient locations, including a 16-bed inpatient facility for voluntary and involuntary care. With experienced teams and robust training, caregivers help deliver recovery-oriented, trauma-informed care.

Why MultiCare?

Rooted in the local community

Partnering with patients, families and neighbors across the Pacific Northwest for more than 140 years.

Growth and education

Competitive tuition assistance, award-winning residencies, fellowships and career development to invest in you.

Well-being and support

Generous PTO, Code Lavender and Employee Assistance Programs to help you maintain balance and feel cared in your work and life.

Living our values

Respect, integrity, kindness and collaboration guide how we care for patients, communities and each other.

Belonging for all

Resource Groups and outreach programs help ensure every team member feels safe, seen, heard and valued.

Pacific Northwest lifestyle

Work and live where natural beauty, adventure and strong community connections are part of everyday life.

Pay and Benefit Expectations

We provide a comprehensive benefits package, including competitive salary, medical, dental and retirement benefits and paid time off. As required by various pay transparency laws, we share a competitive range of compensation for candidates hired into each position. The pay scale is $24.83 - $35.71 USD. However, pay is influenced by factors specific to applicants, including but not limited to: skill set, level of experience, and certification(s) and/or education. If this position is associated with a union contract, pay will be reflective of the appropriate step on the pay scale to which the applicant’s years of experience align.

Associated benefit information can be viewed here.

$24.83 - $35.71/hourly Posted 14 Days Ago Full Time Less than 10 Applies