CRSS Ethical and Professional Responsibility 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A peer recovery specialist learns that a person in recovery they support has relapsed. What is the MOST ethical first response?
- Report the relapse to the person's family immediately
- Encourage the person to re-engage with support services without judgment (Correct answer)
- Terminate the support relationship to protect professional credibility
- Document the relapse in a public case file
Correct answer: Encourage the person to re-engage with support services without judgment
Ethical peer support responds to relapse with compassion and encouragement to re-engage services, not punitive or shaming actions.
Question 2: Which behavior BEST demonstrates professional integrity for a Certified Recovery Support Specialist?
- Sharing personal recovery stories without considering their impact on the peer
- Accepting gifts from peers in exchange for extra services
- Maintaining consistency between stated values and actions in all interactions (Correct answer)
- Bending professional boundaries when a peer seems to need extra attention
Correct answer: Maintaining consistency between stated values and actions in all interactions
Professional integrity means acting in alignment with stated values and ethics at all times, not just when convenient.
Question 3: A recovery support specialist is asked by a supervisor to share confidential peer information for administrative reporting. What should the specialist do FIRST?
- Share the information immediately since a supervisor requested it
- Refuse to share any information under any circumstances
- Determine whether the peer has given informed consent or if a legal exception applies (Correct answer)
- Ask a coworker what they would do in the same situation
Correct answer: Determine whether the peer has given informed consent or if a legal exception applies
Confidentiality can only be breached with informed consent or in legally recognized exceptions, regardless of who requests the information.
Question 4: When a recovery support specialist develops romantic feelings for a peer they support, the MOST ethical course of action is to:
- Wait to see if feelings pass before taking any action
- Immediately disclose feelings to the peer to be transparent
- Seek clinical supervision and arrange an appropriate transfer of services (Correct answer)
- Continue the professional relationship while keeping feelings private
Correct answer: Seek clinical supervision and arrange an appropriate transfer of services
Romantic feelings toward a peer represent a conflict of interest that requires supervision and, typically, transfer of the case to protect the peer's wellbeing.
Question 5: Which of the following BEST describes the concept of 'self-determination' in peer recovery support?
- The specialist determines the best recovery path for each peer
- The peer has the right to make their own choices about their recovery journey (Correct answer)
- The agency sets recovery goals that peers must follow to receive services
- Self-determination applies only to peers with full legal decision-making capacity
Correct answer: The peer has the right to make their own choices about their recovery journey
Self-determination is the ethical principle that peers have the right to define and direct their own recovery, even if the specialist disagrees with their choices.
Question 6: A peer discloses that they are currently selling drugs to support themselves. The specialist has no indication of imminent danger to others. The MOST ethical action is to:
- Contact law enforcement immediately
- Ignore the disclosure to protect the relationship
- Acknowledge the disclosure, explore underlying needs, and continue supportive engagement (Correct answer)
- Terminate services until the peer stops the illegal activity
Correct answer: Acknowledge the disclosure, explore underlying needs, and continue supportive engagement
Unless there is imminent danger, ethical recovery support involves engaging without judgment while exploring underlying needs rather than punishing disclosure.
Question 7: Which of the following is an example of practicing within the scope of a Recovery Support Specialist's role?
- Diagnosing a peer with a co-occurring mental health disorder
- Providing peer support and connecting a peer to community resources (Correct answer)
- Prescribing medication-assisted treatment protocols
- Facilitating clinical therapy sessions independently
Correct answer: Providing peer support and connecting a peer to community resources
Recovery Support Specialists are trained to provide peer support and resource navigation, not clinical diagnosis or treatment.
CRSS Ethical and Professional Responsibility 2
A peer recovery specialist learns that a person in recovery they support has relapsed.
What is the MOST ethical first response?