Appalachian Consulting Group

What Appalachian Consulting Group does

Appalachian Consulting Group (ACG) is a privately held training and consulting organization founded in 1999 and headquartered in Cleveland, Georgia. ACG develops and delivers curriculum for the peer support specialist workforce in U.S. mental health, behavioral health, and chronic illness management systems, serving state behavioral health departments, the Veterans Administration, peer-run non-profits, and healthcare agencies. Its flagship product is the Peer Specialist Core Recovery Curriculum, a 24-session certification training program approved in almost half of U.S. states and by the Veterans Administration, supplemented by the Peer Support Whole Health and Resiliency (PSWHR) program, the Train-the-Trainer modules, and the Catalysts for Recovery workforce integration program.

The underlying technology is a proprietary curriculum and methodology stack rather than a software platform. ACG's offerings are built on multiple codified frameworks — the 24-session Core Recovery Curriculum, the PSWHR's 10 healthy lifestyle/resiliency domains co-developed with the Benson Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine, the IMPACT goal-setting process, the PICBA problem-solving method, and the Catch it! Check it! Change it! cognitive reframing tool. Train-the-Trainer cohorts with hands-on critique by ACG master trainers function as a quality-control mechanism, with PSWHR Train-the-Trainer cohorts capped at 12 participants who must be prior PSWHR graduates with facilitation experience.

ACG operates on a fee-for-service professional services revenue model, charging for curriculum-based training and consulting engagements. Go-to-market is sales-led, relying on direct outreach to state departments of behavioral health, agency partnerships, professional network referrals, and a basic website with contact form rather than digital marketing or paid acquisition. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, consistent with bespoke contract negotiation. A single senior trainer has trained more than 800 peer support specialists in Michigan alone, indicating program reach is substantial but delivered through human-led cohorts. No external investors, funding rounds, or acquisitions have been disclosed.

Name

Appalachian Consulting Group

Legal name

Appalachian Consulting Group

Website

https://acgpeersupport.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Appalachian Consulting Group is a privately held training and consulting organization founded in 1999 that develops and delivers proprietary peer support specialist certification curricula, including a 24-session Core Recovery Curriculum approved in almost half of U.S. states and by the Veterans Administration, for state behavioral health agencies, peer-run non-profits, and healthcare organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Behavioral Health Training and Consulting

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (62431)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Caregiver Support, Coaching & Training (HLADALAG)

Keywords

• Peer support training
• Behavioral health consulting
• Mental health certification
• Recovery-oriented services
• Workforce development training

Headquarters

HQ city

Cleveland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Peer Specialist Core Recovery Curriculum Training: Fee-for-service training programs delivered to organizations and state agencies seeking to certify peer support specialists. Programs include the 24-session Core Recovery Curriculum and specialized training modules.
2. Train-the-Trainer Programs: Revenue generated from training local peer specialists to become trainers, creating a scalable distribution model where trained trainers deliver programs within their own agencies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Appalachian Consulting Group (ACG) delivers training and consulting services to state mental health systems, behavioral health agencies, and healthcare organizations to build a certified peer support specialist workforce. Its core offering is a 24-session Peer Specialist Core Recovery Curriculum, approved in almost half of U.S. states and by the Veterans Administration, complemented by the Peer Support Whole Health and Resiliency (PSWHR) program, Train-the-Trainer modules, and the Catalysts for Recovery organizational consulting program.

Product overview

Appalachian Consulting Group (ACG) offers a portfolio of training and consulting services focused on health and behavioral health workforce development. The core offerings include the Peer Specialist Core Recovery Curriculum (a 24-session certification training program approved in nearly half of US states) and the Peer Support Whole Health and Resiliency (PSWHR) program. Both core programs have corresponding Train-the-Trainer modules that enable qualified graduates to expand the peer specialist workforce. Additionally, the Catalysts for Recovery program provides organizational consulting to help agencies integrate peer support specialists into their workforce. ACG's training approach is built on person-centered planning, recovery-oriented principles, and the belief that peers with lived experience are most effective in supporting others' recovery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Peer Specialist Core Recovery Curriculum Training

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 800 Peer Support Specialists trained in Michigan alone
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental DisabilitiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999Founding partnership in 1999 to pioneer Medicaid-billable peer support services in Georgia. This partnership established the original model that evolved into ACG's current national training programs.
• Georgia Mental Health Consumer NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founding partner in 1999 for pioneering peer support services. ACG's founder Larry Fricks was also a founder of this network, establishing deep roots in Georgia's peer recovery community.
• Veterans AdministrationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACG is one of the approved training programs for VA peer specialist certification, allowing delivery of training to veteran-serving organizations nationwide.
• Benson Henry Institute for Mind-Body MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with ACG to develop the 10 healthy lifestyle/resiliency domains used in the Peer Support Whole Health and Resiliency (PSWHR) program.
• Justice in Mental Health Organization (JIMHO)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMichigan's oldest peer-run center where ACG Senior Trainer Jean Dukarski served as Program Director, serving more than 1,200 individuals annually.
• Project DoorsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMichigan non-profit peer-run organization where Jean Dukarski served as Associate Director providing technical assistance for development and sustainability of other peer-run organizations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• National Council for Mental Wellbeing: Large national membership organization serving mental health and substance use providers, including peer support workforce development. Overlaps with ACG's state-agency customer base and certification training mission.
• Mental Health America: Large national mental health nonprofit with peer support programs and workforce initiatives. Broader portfolio than ACG, but overlapping audience of state agencies and peer support specialists.
• Optum Behavioral Health: Scaled behavioral health services provider that employs peer support specialists and operates peer support training internally. Represents the in-house training alternative that could compete with ACG's external training model.

Direct peers

• Recovery International: Peer-led mental health training organization offering structured training and cognitive-behavioral peer support methodology. Direct overlap with ACG's training-the-peer-workforce mission.
• Intentional Peer Support: Provides peer specialist training programs explicitly focused on relational, intentional peer support. Overlaps with ACG's training offerings for behavioral health peer specialists.
• Center for Practice Innovations (Columbia Psychiatry): Provides training and implementation support for evidence-based behavioral health practices, including peer specialist training. Directly overlaps with ACG's training and workforce development mission.
• Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery: Provides WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) certification and peer specialist training programs—the most direct competitor to ACG's Core Recovery Curriculum, serving the same state mental health systems and peer-run organizations.
• Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA): National peer-run organization offering peer specialist training programs and support group facilitation. Serves a similar population of mental health peer support specialists as ACG.
• National Association of Peer Specialists (NAPS): National membership body promoting peer specialist certification and offering training resources. NAPS is a comparable training/certification provider serving the same peer support specialist workforce that ACG trains.

Others

• Huron Consulting Group: Management consulting firm with a healthcare practice that advises providers on workforce transformation and operational improvements. Comparable to ACG's Catalysts for Recovery consulting offering for agencies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/appalachian-consulting-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Appalachian Consulting Group