Who is the Expert in the Room?

Peers, Coaches, and Licensed Clinicians in Mental Health and Substance Use Recovery

APPROVED FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS BY:

Diamond Mind, LLC is a NAADAC-Approved Education Provider (#290357). Individuals participating in educational programs offered by NAADAC Approved Education Providers are assured that the continuing education (CE) hours provided for each course will be accepted toward national credentialing by the National Certification Commission for Addiction Professionals (NCC AP), as well as many of the individual state licensing/certification bodies in the addiction and other helping professions. To learn more - https://www.naadac.org/providers

Theme: How systems work together to improve outcomes

Overview: Effective addiction recovery requires diverse tools and perspectives to support individuals across prevention, treatment, and long-term recovery. This immersive workshop explores the interplay between peer coaching and clinical treatment, clarifying how these distinct roles complement one another while serving different functions within the continuum of care.

Participants examine the unique strengths of each approach, the dynamics of the “expert in the room,” and practical strategies for creating cohesive, collaborative recovery plans. Designed for clinicians, peer professionals, and interdisciplinary teams, this session provides practical tools to strengthen role clarity, enhance collaboration, and improve engagement and outcomes across mental health and substance use disorder services.

Outcomes: Participants leave with shared language, clear frameworks, and practical tools to reduce interdisciplinary friction, strengthen collaboration, and improve engagement across systems.

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Registration information will appear here once dates are scheduled.

You may request this course for your organization using the link above.

FULL COURSE DESCRIPTION & LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Effective recovery systems rely on both clinical and non-clinical professionals—yet confusion around roles, scope, and authority often creates friction that undermines care. This training clarifies the complementary value of clinicians, peer support specialists, and recovery coaches, offering a shared framework for collaboration that strengthens prevention, treatment, and long-term recovery outcomes.

Participants examine how clinical and non-clinical roles differ in training, scope of practice, models of change, and use of authority—while also identifying where these roles intentionally overlap to support engagement, motivation, and continuity of care. Special attention is given to the “expert in the room” dynamic, exploring how power, identity, and lived experience shape helping relationships and influence client trust, follow-through, and outcomes.

The session also addresses the systemic consequences of role confusion, including mixed messaging to clients, boundary drift, professional defensiveness, and disengagement from care. Participants learn how unclear expectations and unspoken hierarchies can unintentionally weaken treatment plans, erode trust, and reduce effectiveness across the continuum of services.

Grounded in trauma-informed, strengths-based, and person-centered principles, the training highlights the unique value each role provides: clinical expertise in assessment, diagnosis, and risk management; and non-clinical expertise in engagement, modeling, accountability, and real-world application. Through case examples and practical frameworks, participants learn how role clarity, shared language, and intentional collaboration reduce conflict, protect professional integrity, and improve system-wide effectiveness.

Designed for clinicians, peer professionals, supervisors, and administrators across mental health and substance use settings—including justice-involved and community-based programs—this training equips participants with practical strategies to align roles, reinforce mutual respect, and build integrated recovery teams where each discipline operates at the top of its license or lived expertise.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

Differentiate the core roles, responsibilities, and scope of practice of clinical and non-clinical professionals in mental health and substance use disorder services.
Describe how power dynamics and the “expert in the room” differ across clinical and peer-based models and how these dynamics affect engagement and outcomes.
Identify the unique value and limitations of both clinical treatment and peer-based support within prevention, treatment, and recovery systems.
Apply at least two collaboration strategies that strengthen role clarity, reduce interdisciplinary friction, and improve continuity of care.
Evaluate a case scenario and determine how clinical and non-clinical roles can be intentionally integrated to support recovery while maintaining professional boundaries.