Free PSS Advocacy, Empowerment, and Navigating Systems Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A peer specialist helps a peer create a list of questions to ask their psychiatrist and then role-plays the appointment with them. This is an example of fostering:
- Systemic advocacy
- Self-advocacy (Correct answer)
- Grievance filing
- Clinical intervention
Correct answer: Self-advocacy
Self-advocacy is the ability to speak up for oneself and make one's own decisions. By helping the peer prepare for their appointment, the specialist is equipping them with the skills and confidence to advocate for their own needs within the healthcare system.
Question 2: The primary goal of empowering a peer is to:
- Make decisions for the peer to ensure they get the best care.
- Help the peer recognize their own capacity to make choices and direct their life. (Correct answer)
- Ensure the peer follows all recommendations from their treatment team.
- Protect the peer from all potential risks and challenges.
Correct answer: Help the peer recognize their own capacity to make choices and direct their life.
Empowerment in peer support is about fostering a peer's belief in their own ability to make choices and influence their own life and recovery. It's not about the specialist giving them power, but helping them discover the power and resilience they already possess.
Question 3: When helping a peer navigate the social services system, the MOST empowering approach is to:
- Complete all the paperwork for the peer to speed up the process.
- Tell the peer which services they should apply for.
- Work alongside the peer, offering support and guidance as they complete tasks. (Correct answer)
- Call the social services office and advocate on the peer's behalf without them present.
Correct answer: Work alongside the peer, offering support and guidance as they complete tasks.
The peer support model emphasizes 'doing with,' not 'doing for.' By working alongside the peer to complete applications or make calls, the specialist models the process and builds the peer's skills and confidence to navigate these systems independently in the future.
Question 4: Which action by a peer specialist represents a potential boundary violation while advocating for a peer?
- Helping a peer write down their concerns before a meeting.
- Attending a treatment team meeting with the peer's consent.
- Speaking for the peer in a meeting when they are able to speak for themselves. (Correct answer)
- Explaining the process of filing a grievance to a peer.
Correct answer: Speaking for the peer in a meeting when they are able to speak for themselves.
Speaking for a peer when they are capable of speaking for themselves disempowers them and crosses a professional boundary. The peer specialist's role is to support the peer in using their own voice, not to replace it, unless the peer has explicitly requested this form of advocacy and is unable to communicate.
Question 5: A peer feels discouraged about finding a job due to past setbacks. A strengths-based approach would involve:
- Focusing on the reasons for their past job losses.
- Telling them to be more realistic about their job prospects.
- Exploring times they have overcome challenges and identifying their skills. (Correct answer)
- Giving them a list of jobs that are easy to get.
Correct answer: Exploring times they have overcome challenges and identifying their skills.
A strengths-based approach focuses on an individual's inherent strengths and resources rather than their deficits or problems. By exploring past successes, no matter how small, the peer specialist helps the individual recognize their own resilience and capabilities, which builds confidence for future endeavors.
Question 6: A peer with social anxiety has a job interview and is worried about the crowded waiting room. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), what might be a 'reasonable accommodation' they could request?
- Requesting to be hired without an interview.
- Asking to wait in a separate, quiet room before the interview. (Correct answer)
- Demanding that the employer reschedule all other interviews for that day.
- Insisting that the peer specialist attend the interview with them.
Correct answer: Asking to wait in a separate, quiet room before the interview.
A reasonable accommodation is a modification to the application process or work environment that enables a qualified individual with a disability to have equal employment opportunity. Allowing the peer to wait in a private space is a reasonable adjustment that addresses their specific disability-related barrier without causing undue hardship to the employer.
Question 7: A peer feels their rights were violated by a service provider. The peer specialist's primary role in this situation is to:
- Investigate the claim and determine if the provider was at fault.
- Provide information about the grievance process and support the peer's choice. (Correct answer)
- Contact the provider directly and demand an apology on the peer's behalf.
- Advise the peer to drop the issue to avoid conflict.
Correct answer: Provide information about the grievance process and support the peer's choice.
The peer specialist's role is to empower the peer by providing information and support, not to take over the process. This includes explaining the grievance process, helping the peer understand their rights, and supporting them in whatever course of action they choose to take.
Free PSS Advocacy, Empowerment, and Navigating Systems Questions and Answers 1
A peer specialist helps a peer create a list of questions to ask their psychiatrist and then role-plays the appointment with them.
This is an example of fostering: