help & resources

our peer supporters provide emotional support, teach skills, and share their knowledge and own experiences with mental health. they have a wide variety of backgrounds, identities and experiences. many are students, or recent graduates.

all of our peer supporters have experience of mental health challenges and are in recovery. they are trained and certified for mental health peer support, and paid for their work. (learn more about becoming a peer supporter with peers.net.)

our service is currently available in California, Oregon and Washington State. we’re working to be available in every state.

we are currently providing service to people between the age of 18 and 30. we’re working on expanding to more ages in the future.

we respect the dignity and pride of each individual we serve. we do not discriminate on the basis of gender identity or expression, disability, race, color, ancestry, citizenship, religion, pregnancy, sexual orientation, national origin, medical condition, marital status, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law.

supporters are able to set their own schedule for support sessions, so individual supporter hours will vary. you can see their availability on their profile page. you can also search for the next available appointment.

we want to make peers.net affordable for everyone. we suggest $45 per session. you choose how much you pay, starting at $20. people who can pay more help those who need to pay less. supporters always earn the same wage.

we do not currently accept insurance but we are working to accept both private insurance and medicaid in future. we’ll keep you updated on our progress.

try it! find a supporter via our directory. you can book sessions with multiple supporters to try them out. or our team can help you find the right supporter with our matching service.

peers.net has been developed and co-designed with college students. we’re giving early access to students who want to actively give us feedback to improve the service. feedback and ideas to improve our service are always welcome. like many of us, peers.net is a work in progress, and this is your chance to make it better.

peer supporters provide emotional support, teach skills, and share their knowledge and own experiences with mental health.

peer supporters believe that recovery is possible for everyone. our peer supporters are available to share their lived experiences of successful mental health recovery and hope. recovery is a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential. recovery is an ongoing process. to learn more about recovery, check out samhsa’s working definition of recovery.

peer supporters are not here to judge. they will come to sessions with open minds and have your best interest at heart.

peer supporters are not responsible for making decisions for you, but they can help you make decisions for yourself by helping you identify your goals and strategies for achieving them. peer supporters can also help locate information so you can make an informed decision about your own care.

peer supporters do not have a clinical background. they are not able to diagnose any mental or physical health conditions, treat any mental or physical health conditions, or give medical advice of any kind.

peer supporters cannot prescribe medication; please contact your primary care physician if you think you might need medication. your peer supporters will never tell you whether or not you should be taking medication. we believe that everyone knows their body best, and we want you to make the right choices for yourself.

peer supporters are not therapists, so they will not provide psychosocial evaluations or host therapy groups.

at peers.net we believe in collaborative mental health care, and will never discourage you from seeking out a therapist’s or psychiatrist’s expertise. one of our values is that you don’t need to find “the one”. we encourage you to build a village of support around you so that you can flourish.

peer supporters will not compromise their boundaries for you. peer supporters have clear boundaries. they are mandatory reporters (see below), professionals, and have a code of ethics that they are expected to follow.

peer supporters are not on-call crisis support resources. they can help in crisis intervention by creating a crisis safety plan, but should not be depended on to handle or respond to all crisis situations. if you’re experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the emergency room.

peer supporters must report disclosures of suspected abuse or neglect of minors, elders, and dependent adults to the appropriate authorities. this means that the peer supporter must fill out a report if they think someone is in danger. this report will detail the situation and will be sent to their supervisor.

you can see a peer supporter’s availability and book a session on their profile page. When they accept the appointment, we send you a confirmation email with the video link. before your first session you need to enter your credit card info and fill in some forms on the my.peers.net portal.

when you’re ready to do your session, just click on the videolink in the email or calendar entry. If you’re doing your session on your mobile, we recommend downloading SimplePractice’s client app.

yes, you can cancel your peer support session. please remember to cancel 24 hours in advance. you will be responsible for the entire fee if cancellation is less than 24 hours. if you are late for a session, you will lose some of that session time.

our peer supporters may need to cancel or change your session. in that case they will try to contact you and ask you to book a new session. if you are experiencing difficulties with booking another appointment,, please contact us.

our peer support is all virtual via secure video sessions. if you see your peer supporter accidentally outside of these sessions, they will not acknowledge you first in order to protect your privacy and confidentiality. however, if you acknowledge your peer supporter first, our peer supporters will be more than happy to speak briefly with you, but won’t engage in any lengthy discussions in public or outside of scheduled visits.

due to the importance of your confidentiality and the importance of minimizing dual relationships, peer supporters do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former seekers on any social media sites (instagram, tiktok, linkedin, etc). we believe that supporters adding you as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. it may also blur the boundaries of the peer support relationship. if you have questions about this, don’t hesitate to bring them up with your peer supporter.

to protect your privacy and confidentiality, we do not allow friends and family to give formal peer support. if you see a friend or family member on our platform, please don’t schedule a session with them.

if you need to contact your peer supporter between sessions, please send a secure message via my.peers.net, our client portal. they will attempt to respond to your secure message within 48 hours. we cannot guarantee immediate response. do not use these methods of communication to discuss urgent matters and/or request assistance for emergencies.

if you’re experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the emergency room.