CPSS Ethical Practice 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A peer support specialist runs into a person they support at a community grocery store. What is the most ethical response?
- Greet them warmly and ask how their treatment is progressing
- Ignore them completely to protect both parties
- Follow the person's lead — acknowledge them only if they initiate contact (Correct answer)
- Introduce them to any companions present
Correct answer: Follow the person's lead — acknowledge them only if they initiate contact
The peer specialist should follow the person's lead to protect their confidentiality in community settings.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes a 'dual relationship' in peer support?
- When a peer specialist works two jobs simultaneously
- When a peer specialist has both a personal and a professional relationship with someone they support (Correct answer)
- When two peer specialists share the same caseload
- When a peer specialist supports clients in two different programs
Correct answer: When a peer specialist has both a personal and a professional relationship with someone they support
A dual relationship occurs when a peer specialist has a pre-existing or concurrent personal role with someone they are professionally supporting.
Question 3: A peer support specialist discovers they went to high school with a new person assigned to them. What should they do first?
- Continue without disclosure since the connection is in the past
- Immediately terminate all contact with the person
- Disclose the relationship to their supervisor and discuss potential conflicts (Correct answer)
- Ask the person if they remember them before deciding
Correct answer: Disclose the relationship to their supervisor and discuss potential conflicts
Disclosing potential dual relationships to a supervisor allows for proper assessment of the risk to objectivity and the supported person's wellbeing.
Question 4: Under North Carolina peer support ethics guidelines, information shared by the person receiving support should be kept confidential EXCEPT when:
- The supervisor requests a routine update
- There is a credible risk of harm to self or others (Correct answer)
- The peer specialist believes the information could help other clients
- The information was shared in a group setting
Correct answer: There is a credible risk of harm to self or others
Confidentiality may be broken when there is a credible and imminent risk of harm to the person or to others.
Question 5: A person being supported offers a peer specialist a $50 gift card as a thank-you. The ethical course of action is to:
- Accept it graciously since refusing would be disrespectful
- Accept it and disclose it to the supervisor later
- Decline the gift and explain the professional boundary around accepting gifts (Correct answer)
- Suggest they donate the amount to the agency instead
Correct answer: Decline the gift and explain the professional boundary around accepting gifts
Accepting gifts can compromise the professional boundary and create a sense of obligation; peer specialists should respectfully decline and explain why.
Question 6: When a peer support specialist shares personal recovery experiences, the primary purpose should be to:
- Build rapport and demonstrate their own expertise
- Inspire and instill hope in the person they support (Correct answer)
- Fill conversational gaps when the person is not talking
- Show that the specialist has overcome more serious challenges
Correct answer: Inspire and instill hope in the person they support
Intentional self-disclosure in peer support is used purposefully to inspire hope and model recovery, not for personal validation.
Question 7: Which behavior most clearly violates professional boundaries in peer support?
- Attending a community recovery event that a person you support also attends
- Texting a person you support your personal cell phone number for non-emergency contact (Correct answer)
- Sharing a general recovery story during a group session
- Reminding a person of an upcoming appointment
Correct answer: Texting a person you support your personal cell phone number for non-emergency contact
Giving out personal contact information moves the relationship outside professional channels and compromises appropriate boundaries.
CPSS Ethical Practice 2
A peer support specialist runs into a person they support at a community grocery store.
What is the most ethical response?