Life Renewal Behavioral Health Blog

Both credentials require 40 hours of OHA-approved training, and both let you work as a peer in Oregon. The difference is which board certifies you. A Peer Support Specialist (PSS) is certified through the Oregon Health Authority and can specialize in four areas. A...

To become a Certified Recovery Mentor in Oregon you need at least two years of documented recovery from a substance use disorder, 40 hours of OHA-approved addiction peer training, approved oral health training, a completed MHACBO ethics quiz, a signed code of conduct,...

Recovery has days that feel like victory and days that feel like hanging on by your fingertips. On those harder days, many people find that God's Word says what they cannot put into words themselves. Scripture does not erase the struggle, but it does remind you who is...

If someone you love is struggling with addiction here in the Tri-Cities, the hardest part is often not the decision to get help. It is knowing where to start. Between Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland there are real resources available, but sorting through them while...

If you are in recovery and living in Oregon, you may have felt it already. That quiet pull to turn your hardest season into something that helps someone else. Maybe a mentor walked with you through early sobriety in Portland, or a peer sat with you in a Clackamas...

Addiction never happens to just one person. When a loved one struggles with drugs or alcohol, the whole family learns to survive around it. Conversations become careful. Trust wears thin. Some family members go quiet while others carry everything. By the time recovery...

Deciding to get help for addiction takes real courage. Then comes the next question, and it stops a lot of people in their tracks: what kind of help? Many people assume treatment means packing a bag and leaving home for a month. Sometimes it does. But for many people...

For many people, the biggest barrier to getting help is not willingness. It is the fear of cost. The good news is that addiction treatment is covered by insurance far more often than people expect, including by Medicaid plans in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Here is...

Are you considering outpatient treatment for addiction? It's very normal to wonder what it will look like practically each day. Will it feel overwhelming? Will there be time for the rest of life? Can it really work? The answer to that last question is yes, and...