Resource Library
May 13, 2018
Educational Packages for Opioid Use Disorders: Peer Support Workers
The Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network Coordinating Office (NCO), funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA), designed this competency-based guide to raise awareness of resources available to build the capacity of the workforce to address the opioid crisis. The digital guide is relevant to psychologists, counselors, social workers, peer support workers, and other behavioral health professionals who intersect with people at risk for misuse of, or who are already misusing,opioids. Contemporary use of prescription or illicit opioids has led to the current opioid crisis in the United States, where opioid overdose has increased fivefold since 1999 and where every day more than 115 people die of an opioid overdose. It is important to acknowledge the continuum of prevention, treatment, and recovery when addressing people who have, or are at risk of developing, an opioid use disorder. Therefore, the guide has been organized to align with this continuum.