Peer Academy
NYC Health + Hospitals’ Peer Academy recruits and trains community members with lived experience of mental health or substance use challenges to become State-certified peer counselors, who can support behavioral health patients in hospitals and other healthcare settings.
The Peer Academy forms part of NYC Health + Hospitals broader commitment to strengthening its behavioral health capacity by building career pathways into the workforce and investing in staff professional development.
Peer Academy Training Program
Peer Academy is a free 18-week program that includes classroom and on-the-job training at NYC Health + Hospitals facilities.
Trainees are shown how to engage people in crisis, connect them to care, and navigate within the community. They are also taught how to use their lived experience appropriately for the benefit of patients while still maintaining healthy boundaries. Trainees participate in work readiness and professional development workshops led by experienced training staff who are themselves peer practitioners.
Applicants chosen for the Peer Academy program complete both classroom and online training in mental health and addiction services, along with internship rotations across the behavioral health system. NYC Health + Hospitals uses a variety of existing curricula to inform its Peer Academy’s training, including Peer Support Learning for the 21st Century, which has been used successfully in Singapore, Arizona and California, as well as substance use recovery training approved by the New York Certification Board, and more.
In addition to classroom and online training, participants complete a six-week, full-time hospital-based internship with rotations across behavioral health settings, including inpatient and ambulatory psychiatry, addiction services, emergency departments, Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Programs, and street outreach teams. The Peer Academy includes the hours needed for the State certifications to become a Certified Peer Specialist for mental health and a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate for substance use. It includes over 20 hours of online workshops including support for LMS modules at the Academy of Peer Services, 168 hours of classroom training, and 150 hours at a hospital-based internship.
Graduates of the training program are encouraged and supported to become full-time employees in the health system, building patient-centered capacity to care for the patient’s behavioral, emotional and social needs.
Develop Your Career as a Peer Counselor
Peers are uniquely positioned to serve patients with complex and co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder needs, and they can connect to traditionally hard-to-reach patients by appropriately sharing their lived experience to support recovery.
NYC Health + Hospitals currently employs over 100 peers across our system and is one of the largest employers of peers in New York City. Nearly 40% of the peer counselors who are employed at NYC Health + Hospitals are graduates from the Peer Academy.
Peer Academy staff work with interns who successfully complete the program to help them find employment after graduation. Work-ready peers who successfully graduate from the Peer Academy will be eligible to receive a stipend to compensate their training time.
Eligibility
Eligible New Yorkers who would like to apply to the Peer Academy must be at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or GED/TASC, and have lived experience of a mental health or substance use challenge. All Peer Academy participants will undergo a complete background check before enrolling in the program.
Apply to the Peer Academy
The Peer Academy operates two training cohorts annually, launching in February and August respectively. Upcoming applications deadlines are:
- January 12, 2026 (Spring 2026)
- July 13, 2026 (Fall 2026)
To learn more about the NYC Health + Hospitals Peer Academy program, contact OBHPeerAcademy@nychhc.org. Program managers are available to assist with the application process.
Click here to complete the Peer Academy application by January 12, 2026.
Interested? Click here to sign up for information.
