CRS Mental Health Awareness 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which mental health condition is characterized by alternating episodes of mania or hypomania and depression?
- Cyclothymia only
- Bipolar disorder (Correct answer)
- Borderline personality disorder
- Schizoaffective disorder
Correct answer: Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder is defined by mood episodes that cycle between mania/hypomania and depression.
Question 2: When supporting a client who takes psychiatric medication, a CRS peer specialist's appropriate role is to:
- Advise the client whether to continue or stop their medication
- Encourage adherence and support communication with their prescriber (Correct answer)
- Recommend alternative supplements instead of prescribed medications
- Adjust dosage recommendations based on the client's reported symptoms
Correct answer: Encourage adherence and support communication with their prescriber
Peer specialists support medication adherence and communication with prescribers but do not make clinical medication decisions.
Question 3: Stigma related to mental health in recovery communities most commonly manifests as:
- Over-prescription of psychiatric medications
- Shame, discrimination, and reluctance to seek help (Correct answer)
- Excessive focus on mental health education
- Mandatory disclosure of mental health history
Correct answer: Shame, discrimination, and reluctance to seek help
Mental health stigma leads to shame, social discrimination, and a reluctance to seek needed care.
Question 4: Which approach best describes motivational interviewing (MI) as it applies to mental health support?
- Directing clients to make specific behavioral changes immediately
- Using empathic listening to enhance a person's motivation to change (Correct answer)
- Providing psychoeducation through structured lectures
- Confronting resistant behavior to overcome denial
Correct answer: Using empathic listening to enhance a person's motivation to change
MI is a collaborative, person-centered approach that uses empathic listening and strategic questions to strengthen motivation for change.
Question 5: In the DSM-5, a diagnosis of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) requires excessive worry occurring for at least:
- Two weeks
- One month
- Six months (Correct answer)
- One year
Correct answer: Six months
DSM-5 criteria for GAD require excessive anxiety and worry occurring more days than not for at least six months.
Question 6: A client in recovery reports hearing voices that are not there. A peer specialist should recognize this as a symptom of:
- Severe depression
- Psychosis (Correct answer)
- Dissociative identity disorder
- Panic disorder
Correct answer: Psychosis
Auditory hallucinations (hearing voices without external stimuli) are a hallmark symptom of psychosis.
Question 7: Self-stigma in mental health recovery refers to:
- A clinician labeling a client with a negative diagnosis
- A person internalizing negative beliefs about their own mental health condition (Correct answer)
- Media portrayal of people with mental illness as dangerous
- Institutional policies that discriminate against people with mental illness
Correct answer: A person internalizing negative beliefs about their own mental health condition
Self-stigma occurs when individuals internalize society's negative stereotypes about mental illness and apply them to themselves.
CRS Mental Health Awareness 3
Which mental health condition is characterized by alternating episodes of mania or hypomania and depression?