Recognising Peer Support

I am delighted to report that I am now officially registered as an 'Accredited Addiction Peer Support Worker' with DAPAANZ, the professional body for New Zealand's addiction sector! I am super stoked about this as it feels like a great recognition of the work I do here at Living Sober, helping other people remove alcohol from their lives like I once did from mine. There is something so empowering and enriching about taking all you learned from a gritty time in your life and using it to help other people. That's what Peer Support is, using your lived experience to help others. 

Peer Support has risen markedly in prominence and recognition in the addiction sector in recent times. It's only been since last March (2025) that DAPAANZ started offering official registration and accreditation for Peer Support workers, after years of research and consultation on how to formally recognise, standardise, and support the unique skills, ethics, and boundaries required .

Peer Support in the addiction sphere is complimentary to the support and guidance offered by professionals with clinical qualifications. Each role (clinical and peer) has unique strengths and benefits and they work alongisde each other to help people with addiction. Many of our members here at LS not only draw strength from the peer support focus of our site, but also seek help from registered professionals. We always say - build a toolbox of supports, reach out and draw on everything you can to help you turn things around. Whatever it takes, you're worth it. 

Quick shout-out to New Zealand here, we are one of the very few countries in the world where Addictions Practitioners are accredited, and now Peer Support workers in our addiction sector are too! 

For me to get registered and gain this formal accreditation as a Peer Support worker, I had to prove I was working in a peer support role (which is what I'm doing as the Community Manager here at Living Sober), receive regular formal supervision from a supervisor (which I do with the amazing Suzy Morrison), demonstrate the essential competency and performance levels required (seen here and here), and demonstrate that I had relevant training and experience specific to addiction peer support practice (which I do through all of my years running this site, the books I have written, and my advocacy work). To maintain the accreditation, I have to do a number of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities every year, and DAPAANZ helps with this by giving me access to events, trainings and conferences etc. It's all very exciting if I'm completely honest!

The other benefits of being a member of DAPAANZ is that I'm now part of an association who goal is to develop and support an ethical, professional, and specialist workforce. I've got this great sense of being part of a professional and vibrant workforce and am covered by a robust competency framework and code of ethics which gives the people I support (that's you lot on here at LS!) the assurance that I'm safe and held accountable. 

If anyone else is interested in DAPAANZ accreditation, if you want to see if you can get it yourself or just have questions, contact the lovely  spencer.dietrich@drugfoundation.org.nz (also a member here @spenceratnzdrugfoundation) for more info.

So yay for DAPAANZ formalising the Peer Support role and yay for me getting accredited! It feels like a very empowering and affirming registration to get and I'm also delighted for the message it sends about the value and importance of lived experience. 

Sobriety - it really does bring only good things.