Role and Responsibilities Flashcards
7 cards from real PSS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Role and Responsibilities flashcards as text
A peer support specialist notices a person they support seems to be relapsing. The specialist's first responsibility is to:
Answer: Engage with compassion, avoid judgment, and continue supporting the person's recovery
Peer specialists approach relapse with non-judgment and compassion, viewing it as part of the recovery process rather than a failure requiring punitive action.
The role of a peer support specialist within an interdisciplinary treatment team is best described as:
Answer: Providing a recovery-focused perspective and advocating for the person's voice on the team
Peer specialists contribute a unique recovery perspective and elevate the person's voice within the team, complementing rather than replacing clinical roles.
When a peer support specialist uses self-disclosure, they should primarily:
Answer: Use personal experiences purposefully to benefit the person being supported
Intentional self-disclosure means sharing personal recovery experiences strategically and purposefully to inspire hope or illustrate a point — not for the specialist's own benefit.
A peer specialist is asked to accompany someone to a mental health court hearing. This responsibility falls under which peer support function?
Answer: Advocacy and navigation support
Accompanying and advocating for individuals as they navigate systems — including courts, housing, or benefits offices — is a core peer support function.
Which scenario best illustrates a peer specialist crossing a professional boundary?
Answer: Lending the person they support money for groceries
Lending money to people being supported creates a financial entanglement that crosses professional boundaries and can harm the therapeutic relationship.
A peer support specialist's primary accountability is to:
Answer: The person they are supporting and the values of the peer support field
While peer specialists operate within organizations, their primary accountability is to the person they serve and to the ethical principles of peer support.
Why is it important for a peer support specialist to understand their agency's mandatory reporting laws?
Answer: To know when confidentiality must be broken to protect safety, as required by law
Mandatory reporting laws require disclosure of certain information (e.g., imminent harm, child abuse) even when confidentiality would otherwise apply — peer specialists must know these exceptions.