CRS Peer Support 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A peer support specialist shares their personal recovery story with a client who is reluctant to engage in treatment. What is the PRIMARY purpose of this self-disclosure?
- To demonstrate that recovery is possible and inspire hope (Correct answer)
- To establish authority over the client's treatment decisions
- To shift focus away from the client's immediate concerns
- To fulfill a documentation requirement
Correct answer: To demonstrate that recovery is possible and inspire hope
Strategic self-disclosure in peer support is used to instill hope and demonstrate that recovery is achievable based on lived experience.
Question 2: Which of the following BEST describes 'recovery capital' in the context of peer support?
- The financial resources available to fund treatment
- The total internal and external resources available to support a person's recovery (Correct answer)
- The number of sobriety days a person has accumulated
- The clinical credentials a peer specialist holds
Correct answer: The total internal and external resources available to support a person's recovery
Recovery capital refers to the breadth and depth of internal resources (strengths, coping skills) and external resources (social support, housing) that aid recovery.
Question 3: When a peer support specialist feels personally triggered by a client's story, the MOST appropriate first action is to:
- Immediately terminate the session to protect the client
- Use self-care and supervision to process the experience (Correct answer)
- Disclose the trigger to the client in detail
- Transfer the client to a different peer specialist permanently
Correct answer: Use self-care and supervision to process the experience
Seeking supervision and practicing self-care helps peer specialists manage vicarious trauma without disrupting the therapeutic relationship.
Question 4: Under the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), what is the role of a 'wellness toolbox'?
- A checklist of medications prescribed by a psychiatrist
- A personalized list of strategies and resources used to maintain wellness (Correct answer)
- A record of hospitalizations and crisis episodes
- A standardized protocol for all people in recovery
Correct answer: A personalized list of strategies and resources used to maintain wellness
The WRAP wellness toolbox is an individualized collection of things a person does to stay well and manage difficult feelings.
Question 5: Which behavior VIOLATES appropriate professional boundaries for a peer support specialist?
- Accompanying a client to a community resource appointment
- Accepting small gifts such as cash from a grateful client (Correct answer)
- Sharing general information about mutual aid groups
- Providing a client with a list of local sober housing options
Correct answer: Accepting small gifts such as cash from a grateful client
Accepting cash or significant gifts from clients creates a dual relationship and violates professional boundaries in peer support.
Question 6: A peer specialist using a 'strengths-based' approach will PRIMARILY focus on:
- Diagnosing barriers to recovery and pathologizing behaviors
- Identifying what is wrong with the client's current situation
- Recognizing and building on the client's existing capacities and resources (Correct answer)
- Applying clinical interventions to reduce symptom severity
Correct answer: Recognizing and building on the client's existing capacities and resources
Strengths-based approaches emphasize identifying and amplifying what is already working in a person's life rather than focusing on deficits.
Question 7: A peer support specialist disagrees with a treatment plan decision made by the clinical team. The MOST appropriate action is to:
- Override the plan by advising the client to refuse treatment
- Document concerns and raise them through appropriate supervisory channels (Correct answer)
- Tell the client the clinical team is wrong
- Ignore the disagreement to avoid conflict
Correct answer: Document concerns and raise them through appropriate supervisory channels
Peer specialists advocate through proper channels, raising concerns with supervisors or in team meetings rather than acting unilaterally.
CRS Peer Support 2
A peer support specialist shares their personal recovery story with a client who is reluctant to engage in treatment.
What is the PRIMARY purpose of this self-disclosure?