Credentials

Credentials and Peer Support Experience

Matthew Harley

Certified Peer Support Worker — Hamilton, Ontario

Matthew Harley is a trained and experienced peer support worker providing non-clinical, lived-experience-grounded support for adults navigating mental health challenges, life transitions, emotional distress, and complex systems.

Matthew’s approach is rooted in dignity, empathy, and respect. He meets people where they are — without judgement, diagnosis, or clinical authority — and supports them in finding their own way forward.

Professional Peer Support Experience

Peer Support Worker — Mental Health Rights Coalition (MHRC), Hamilton

In his current role, Matthew provides one-on-one, non-clinical peer support grounded in lived experience and recovery-oriented principles. His work focuses on creating a safe, respectful space where individuals can speak openly, feel understood, and explore their own paths forward.

His responsibilities include:

• Offering one-on-one peer support in person and by phone

• Providing active listening, emotional support, and shared understanding

• Supporting individuals in identifying strengths, goals, and next steps

• Facilitating inclusive, peer-led group activities

• Mentoring and supporting peer support interns and colleagues

• Connecting individuals with community resources and supports

• Maintaining confidentiality, consent, and ethical peer support boundaries

• Using standard documentation practices to support continuity and accountability

This work reflects the core principles of peer support, including mutual respect, empowerment, choice, and collaboration.

Certifications & Core Competencies

Matthew has completed formal peer support training and holds the following certifications and competencies:

• Certified PeerWorks Peer Support Worker

• Peer Support Core Essentials Training – Level 2 (PeerWorks, Toronto)

• Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) – Level 1

• Psychosocial Rehabilitation

• Active Listening (OARS Model)

• Suicide Prevention–Informed

• Trauma-Informed Peer Support

• Crisis Support (Non-Clinical)

• Substance Use & Eating Disorder–Informed Support

• MAID-Informed Peer Support

• 20+ Years of Lived Experience with Mental Health

These certifications are grounded in both lived experience and recognized best practices for peer support roles, emphasizing ethical, non-clinical, and collaborative support.

Education & Continued Learning

Matthew continues to expand his knowledge and skills with ongoing training, including:

• World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation (WAPR) — Embracing Hope: A Global Perspective on Recovery and Psychosocial Rehabilitation

• Peer Support Core Essentials Training Program – Level 2 (PeerWorks, Toronto)

• Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) – Level 1 (St. Joseph’s Hospital, Hamilton)

Advisory & System-Level Engagement

Matthew also contributes lived-experience perspectives at the system level through advisory roles:

• Patient Advisor — St. Joseph’s Hospital, Mental Health & Addictions Program Joint Advisory Council
  Matthew provides feedback on communication, service quality, and engagement from a lived-experience perspective.

• Patient Advisor — St. Joseph’s Hospital Joint Patient & Family Advisory Council
  Matthew represents voices from the mental health and addictions program and contributes to discussions on patient experience, accessibility, and care quality.

These roles reflect Matthew’s commitment to improving how care systems understand and engage with the people they serve.

Approach to Peer Support

• Matthew’s peer support practice is built on:

• Lived experience as a source of insight and connection

• Non-judgmental, non-clinical, non-directive support

• Respect for each person’s autonomy and self-defined path of recovery

• Collaboration rather than hierarchy

• Confidentiality, consent, and ethical boundaries

Peer support is offered as a standalone form of support and as a complement to — not a replacement for — clinical, medical, or emergency services.

Want to Hear from Others?

Read what people have said about working with Matthew on the Testimonials page.

Return home