Skills and Qualities Flashcards
7 cards from real PSS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Skills and Qualities flashcards as text
Which scenario BEST illustrates a peer specialist maintaining appropriate professional boundaries?
Answer: Meeting a peer for coffee at a community café as a scheduled support activity
Scheduled community outings are appropriate peer support activities, while personal financial loans or access to private contact information cross professional boundaries.
A peer specialist working in a rural community with limited resources BEST demonstrates resourcefulness by:
Answer: Identifying informal community supports like faith organizations and mutual aid networks
Resourcefulness involves identifying and connecting peers to informal, community-based supports when formal services are limited.
Peer specialists are BEST equipped to help peers navigate stigma because:
Answer: They have personally experienced and overcome internalized and social stigma
Personal experience with stigma gives peer specialists unique credibility and empathy when helping others recognize and resist both internalized and external stigma.
When a peer refuses services or support, the peer specialist SHOULD:
Answer: Respect the decision while keeping the door open for future contact
Respecting a peer's right to refuse while keeping the relationship open honors autonomy and maintains trust for future engagement.
Which quality MOST helps a peer specialist support peers from different racial and ethnic backgrounds than their own?
Answer: Curiosity, humility, and willingness to learn from the peer about their experience
Curiosity and humility allow the specialist to learn from the peer directly rather than assuming knowledge about their cultural experience.
Peer specialists demonstrate 'hope' as a skill by:
Answer: Sharing evidence — including personal stories — that change and recovery are possible
Offering grounded, realistic hope — grounded in real stories and evidence — is more credible and sustainable than false promises.
A peer specialist who regularly reflects on how their own biases might affect their work is practicing:
Answer: Critical self-reflection and ongoing professional development
Critical self-reflection is an ongoing professional practice that helps peer specialists identify blind spots and continually improve their effectiveness.